The Reunion
by buffy46143
Summary: "I Do" happened and Quinn and Santana went their separate ways. Their 10 year high school reunion brings them back together to address what's gone on in their separate lives. Quinntana.
1. Chapter 1

You can all thank Anon for this one. I didn't have any plans to write another Quinntana story, but the idea that "I Do" happened and then they go their separate ways for a while gave me an idea. Here it is. This is a grown-up story and there will be definitive angst. I hope you all like it.

Quinn's POV:

It was so much smaller than I remembered. These halls used to dictate my entire day. Walk down the right one with the right guy on your arm wearing the right uniform and you were the most important person in this place, in this world. High school seemed so long ago now, but being back in these halls and walking past old classrooms toward the gym made it seem like it was only yesterday. Cheerios championships, New Directions winning nationals, kissing boys against the lockers… the memories were all coming back to me and I couldn't process them fast enough to really take them all in.

I could hear the noise level increasing the closer I got to my destination. With the noise came an increase in my nervousness. I hadn't seen many of these people in ten years. I had carefully chosen the friends I kept after high school. There were a select few for a while and then there were none.

I needed a new start and a break from everything that had gone on here during my formative years. I needed a chance to find myself in a world where no one knew me; where no one had an impression of me as… well, anything. I needed to get away from people. Well, I needed to get away from one person.

As I turned the corner, I saw the sign-in table and a couple of people I didn't recognize standing behind it ushering my classmates through the doors with their nametags on their chests. People were exchanging greeting and hugs with friends long ago forgotten.

I began to reconsider my decision to attend this event, but before I could make a move to turn around unnoticed, I was tapped on the shoulder. I turned around to see the girl I'd thought about so often all these years.

"Hey," I greeted with severe nervousness.

"Hey? That's all you've got to say to me, Fabray. Where the hell have you been?" She questioned.

"Santana, can we at least get checked in and go inside the actual reunion before you hammer me with questions?"

"Fuck that, I haven't heard from you in like a million years, Quinn. You fell off the face of the earth, which is fucking hard to do these days. You're not online, you changed your phone. I had to ask your mom if you were even still alive."

I started walking toward the door figuring she'd walk with me and we'd continue this conversation inside the gym, but she took my arm and pulled me back in front of her instead.

"If you talked to my mom then you know where I've been. Let's just go inside, San. I promise I will answer your questions, but I need alcohol. This is going to be a long fucking night."

"Fine." She let go of my arm and walked toward the table in a huff. "Santana Lopez and Quinn Fabray." She gave both of our names to the guy checking people in. He made a check mark on his list and handed her our nametags. She walked back toward me and pushed mine into my hand. "Here. Now, let's fucking get this over with and I'm not letting you out of my sight until you answer my questions."

She took my hand and pulled me through the open doors. I had to laugh at her reaction to seeing me because it was just how I pictured it. I hadn't exactly sent in my RSVP until the last minute so I was pretty sure no one I knew thought I would be here.

I tried to take in the sights of the gym and the people. Some of them I recognized right away while others took me a second and most just went unrecognized entirely. Let's face it. I had spent most of high school surrounded by the same small group of people.

Earlier in the evening when I was getting ready, I pulled my hair still blonde, straight and long back in a ponytail and completed my look with my favorite little black dress and boots. I thought the look made me look accomplished and elegant. Even though I knew I had nothing to prove to anyone, there was still this pressure. I was the most popular girl in this school for years and there's that belief that the most popular ones usually peak during those years. I guess I was just hoping my look complete with my biography of accomplishments would tell everyone here that I did something with my life. I'm not entirely happy with some parts of it, but I could at least fake that for a few hours here.

Santana continued to pull me past people who tried to get our attention, but she wouldn't allow it. We arrived at the bar, which was off to the side of the pushed back bleachers that I recalled making out with Puck behind sophomore year. Why does that seem so gross now?

"Rum and coke." She ordered and looked at me. "What do you want, Fabray?"

"That's fine," I told her.

"Make that four then," She told the bartender.

"Four? Who else are we ordering for?"

"No one. I'm guessing we're going to need at least a couple of rounds for you to get through details of your disappearing act, David Copperfield."

We sat at a table away from the crowd that she picked. We set our drinks down and she looked around taking in the faces of the people as they arrived and danced on the makeshift dance floor. She met my eye as I took a drink.

"Any minute now, people are going to notice us and they're going to pull us in a thousand directions for the rest of the night. As your former best friend, I demand to know what the fuck happened to you before the old lackeys start forming circles around us," She took a long drink of her rum and coke and stared at me with those eyes that always kind of seem like they're silently judging you.

"What do you want me to say, Santana?" Honestly, I figured her initial reaction correctly, but I thought she'd just be pissed at me for breaking contact and run off looking for Brittany. I knew the girl didn't graduate with our class, but I figured they'd either be together again by now or Santana would at least bring her since she should have graduated with us, but San had arrived alone like me.

"Start at the beginning, Quinn. What happened to you after college? Why the hell did you drop off the face of the earth? Where are you living? Who are you living with? What's your fucking job?" She rattled all those questions off before pausing and looking at me more sincerely for a moment. "Are you okay?"

"Do you want me to go in order?" I joked with her and smiled so she would know I was only kidding and hopefully wouldn't lash out at me.

"Answer the last one first," She ordered.

I downed the remainder of my first round and pushed the glass aside.

"I'm fine. I'm good actually. I live in London. I'm a market research analyst there."

"Leave it to Quinn Fabray to invent a career for herself."

I laughed and she smiled, which made me smile because it was the first time I had seen her do that in so long.

"It's a real thing, Santana. I help companies market themselves to consumers. I'm pretty good at it actually. I've got a nice, corner office and a team under me."

"You had to go to London to do that?"

"I chose to go to London to do that. Remember my semester abroad?"

"Dimly," she lied. I knew she remembered it. She leaned in a little so I matched her body language. Also, the music was getting louder as more and more people arrived so I kind of had too.

"I spent the semester at Oxford. I liked it. So, I moved there after graduation."

She leaned back and I could see hurt in her eyes now.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Why didn't I tell _anyone_ or why didn't I tell _you_?"

"What happened to us, Q? We were good there for a while. We got our friendship back after Schuester's no-go wedding. You graduate and then you drop off Facebook, lose all our numbers, and apparently move to another country and nothing for like 6 damn years. I didn't even know you were coming tonight."

"_I_ didn't even know I was coming tonight. I was in town for another reason."

"What's the other reason?"

"You can't keep adding to the list for questions, Santana. Give me a minute to at least answer the ones you've asked already. I mean, Jesus fucking Christ."

She laughed, which made me laugh and we both took a much-needed drink from that second round she was right to order.

"Fuck you, Fabray." I could tell she was joking. Well, she was half-joking. She definitely meant it though too.

I took a look around and noticed the tables were filling up quickly. Soon we would be discovered and would more than likely be torn apart. I could choose to stall and wait for that to happen so I could avoid her barrage or I could just get this over with.

"You of all people should understand this, San. I needed to get away and I liked London when I was here for school. I applied for a position and got it. The move happened quickly and once I was there, I just wanted to make a life for myself. I needed to be a new Quinn."

"I didn't drop everyone I knew to move to New York, Quinn."

"I didn't drop you guys. It wasn't like that. I didn't lose your number, Santana. I had to get a new phone, which I actually put your number into by the way. It's just that things happened. I got busy, there's a big time difference and honestly, I missed you, but I needed to break from everything I had known. I didn't mean to hurt you in the process."

"Please, you didn't hurt me. This is just my curiosity talking here." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Same old, Santana. Living life emotionless and fancy free."

"How would you know? You've pulled a Madonna moving to England. Have you picked up kabala or started talking with that terrible hybrid accent?"

"You can be mad if you want too, Santana. There's no big mystery though. I just did what I did. I guess I thought that's what people do in their twenties. I mean, how many people stay friends with their friends from high school?"

"We weren't just friends in high school, Quinn. We were best friends in high school who also happened to be best friends in college. We also had sex once or twice in case you forgot that part."

I swirled the ice around in my glass hoping I could make more alcohol appear in it with my mind.

"I'm sorry, Santana. I really am, but I had to do this for me."

"Whatever."

"Did I answer all your questions? Can I try to say hello to a few people now?"

"Are you happy?" I had almost forgotten how easily she could shift from fiery to someone who has genuine concern for others.

"I'm getting there," I decided to answer her honestly.

"What's the other reason you're in town?"

"Oh, my mom had an accident. She was hanging up a picture on the staircase and somehow managed to fall. She broke her ankle and sprained a wrist. She didn't have anyone else to help her so I came back to take care of her until she could get up on crutches. The reunion just happened to coincide with my visit."

"How long are you staying?"

"About another week. I've got to get back to work."

"How long have you been in Lima?"

"I got in about a month ago and don't be mad, please. I didn't call you because I was taking care of her and you're in New York and…"

"You _knew_, huh?"

"My mom told me you were still living there."

"It's a phone call, Quinn."

"I know. I'm sorry." I looked around again. I noticed Rachel and Finn walk in and Rachel immediately met my glance and began walking over clutching his hand as she pulled him along. "Rachel's on her way," I explained to Santana. "You've got time for one more. Better make this one count."

"What about… love?" She stared at me with squinted eyes.

"I think that's a much longer conversation, Santana."

"Tomorrow? Lunch? Just you and me? None of these wack jobs and I'm including Berry in that group."

"I can't do lunch, but-"

"Fuck, Q. You're here for like a week."

"Can you just let me finish a sentence before you jump all over me? I can't do lunch because I'm having lunch with my mom. I can do dinner though."

"I'll pick you up," She offered.

Rachel was in front of us within seconds of Santana's response and I was standing quickly and wiping the front of my dress down to straighten it. I looked over at Santana who was still sitting. Always classy.

"Quinn? I didn't know you were coming. Where have you been?" Rachel asked before letting go of Finn's hand and hugging me like her life depended on it.

"Let her breathe, Berry." Santana interjected and Rachel pulled away.

Finn hugged me next and it was still awkward seeing him even after all this time. It took me back to the horrible things I did to him; convincing him he was the father of my child, telling him he needed to make something of himself or he would be a terrible father, getting back together with him solely because of how it would look on a prom queen ballot. It was for these reasons and for so many others that I had decided to leave this all behind for a while.

I looked down and caught the ring on Rachel's finger and took a glance to my right to see that Finn also had a ring. I guess they finally did it. Good for them. I turned around for a second to check on Santana. She was tipping a glass back and downing an ice cube. I took a look at her hand and saw a vacant space where a ring would be.


	2. Chapter 2

Santana's POV:

Seeing Quinn after so long was both strange and familiar. It was also kind of painful. I really only came here tonight to show off how amazing I still am to all these Lima losers. I didn't expect to see my former best friend show up and I definitely didn't expect to see her looking so damn good. The girl definitely still took care of herself. Quinn's mom was never really my number one fan so when I called her years ago to check on Quinn, she just told me she was fine and that if she wanted to talk to me, she would. I thought about telling that Jesus loving freak of a woman that her God fearing daughter and I had spent a rather heated night in a hotel room where she definitely used the Lord's name in vain at least 100 times, but I didn't want to give the woman a heart attack in case she had more information to give me later.

The truth was that it did hurt when she dropped me from her life like I was nothing. The truth was that seeing her again made me remember the anger I had thought I'd gotten past. The truth was that just when I thought Quinn would always be in my life and I didn't have to worry about losing her, I lost her. I hadn't planned on dealing with this shit tonight and here it is.

I listened in as she told Rachel the same details she had given me. Finn jumped up to go talk with Mike who had come in from LA where he owned a dance studio. Tina was with him. They'd gotten back together a couple of times since high school and they're wedding was in a couple of months. I was invited, but I wasn't sure if I was going. Tina hugged Quinn when she saw her and the group formed around the table. I stayed in my seat because I didn't feel like getting up. I was also convinced that if I moved away from Quinn, she'd disappear again and I'd have to fly to London to get my answers and I don't think I can stand their food over there.

About an hour later, I could tell Quinn was tired of telling her story over and over again and I was ready for my fourth round of drinks.

"Bar?" I asked her as she paused for a moment during her conversation with Mercedes.

"Yes, please."

"You freaks made Q need liquor. We'll be right back." I pulled her up from her seat and put my arm in hers as we walked to the bar.

"I miss you calling me Q. No one over there does that."

"That makes no sense. They're British. They like made James Bond and James Bond has a pretty important Q."

She laughed and I put my hand on the small of her back and ushered her through the crowd that had formed near the dance floor.

"What do you know about James Bond?"

"I dated a girl who was in film school at the time. She had to take a James Bond class. Pretty big waste of tuition for her parents if you ask me."

We arrived at the bar and I ordered our drinks again.

"Tomorrow night, I don't just want to talk about me."

"Um… I'd hope not, you narcissist."

"I don't know what you've been up too and earlier I wanted to ask, but I felt like I kind of owed it to you to answer your questions first."

"You owe me a lot more than that, Fabray. I'd say you owe me your first born, but that seems unfair to Shelby."

"Second born good enough? If I ever have a second born…" The drink was put in front of her and she took a sip. I flashed back to the night of the wedding when we had used our fake IDs to order up a night of impulsive decisions.

"I always knew you wanted to have my babies, Fabray."

She laughed again and I laughed with her as I took a drink. I stopped laughing for a moment when I remembered that she would be leaving again. I missed her. God, I didn't realize how much I missed her until we had gotten back to our banter.

"San, where's Brittany?"

I gave her a questioning glance as we moved aside so another person could order.

"Right now? I don't know. Why?"

"I thought you'd bring her tonight."

"I haven't seen her in a while," I admitted.

"Really? What happened?"

"Nothing. We just grew apart. I talk to her on the phone a few times a year. We catch up. She's been traveling the world on different tours. That's probably going to stop now though."

"Why?" She asked.

"Because she's pregnant."

She choked on her drink.

"What?"

"She's pregnant with her second kid, Quinn. God, you really did move off planet, didn't you?"

"Brittany has a kid?"

"Yeah, she also has a husband. His name is Harold so you know he got made fun of in school. He's a dancer too. Apparently, he's straight, but a straight male dancer is like a one in a million thing so… Anyway, they've been together… I think since we were 20. They got married about 4 years ago. The first kid popped out about a year later. They named her Marriott."

"What? Why?" She laughed.

"Because that's where they were staying and obviously procreating when she was conceived. They call her Mary though. Thank God! Anyway, she's knocked up again so she'll be taking time off is my guess. She lives in LA now. She's still good friends with Mike."

"Wow!"

"You sure do miss a lot when you're not around for 6 years." I felt like I was maybe making her feel bad by continuing to bring up her absence, but I didn't really fucking care.

"I get it. I'm a bad friend or I guess I'm not really much of a friend at all anymore. I can't believe she's married and has a kid or that she's about to have another. Are you okay with that?"

I took a drink and looked at her. She had been gone so long, she thought I still held a torch for someone I hadn't thought about that way for almost a decade.

"Quinn, I'm not hung up on Brittany. She's a friend and I miss her from time to time, but I'm more than okay with her being married to someone that's not me. She and I never got back together after she got with Sam and it's good that we didn't because she's happy."

"Are you happy?"

These are questions I wasn't prepared to answer tonight. Questions about who graduated from what university, who had what job, who was living in what city… those were questions you expect at a reunion. Leave it to her to make me think deep like I'm a damn philosopher.

"Can we deal with the bigger stuff tomorrow? I'm like 4 drinks in right now and I'm already a little tipsy. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to put together complete sentences much longer."

"When did you become such a lightweight?" She teased. Her hand went to my elbow to pull me back toward our table.

"I don't really drink much these days. I'm all grown up or whatever."

"So what's with booze hound Santana tonight?"

"Blame yourself for that one, Q."

"Remember what happened the last time we were drinking at an event involving these people?"

I smiled and took another drink as we arrived at the table.

"Sure, I remember, but I'm not the one who's been reliving it in her mind over and over all these years. No offense, but I mean it wasn't my only experience with a girl obviously."

She leaned in to whisper in my ear so the others wouldn't hear.

"It was my first, but who said it was my only?"


	3. Chapter 3

Quinn's POV:

Her eyes went wide when I pseudo-seductively whispered in her ear. I laughed out loud watching her react.

"What's so funny?" Tina asked as I sat down next to her leaving Santana standing a little in shock.

"It's just funny how people seem to think you're the same person you were in high school when it's been a long time and a lot has changed since then."

"Yeah, I can understand that. I'm hardly the same Rachel Berry I was when I was 16." Rachel announced to the group. Finn nodded along probably because he wants to have sex again. Then again, it could just be because he actually loved the high school version of Rachel Berry.

"Please Berry, you're still the same version of you. You're sometimes less annoying and you have awards on your shelf now, but your wardrobe is still hideous unless your stylist dresses you and your diva personality is even worse now that you're an actual diva," Santana was less shocked now and had taken a seat on the other side of Tina even though there was an empty one next to me. I kind of liked that I had an effect on her. I glanced at her to see that she was glancing back. I knew she was thinking about what I had said and was running through a million different scenarios in her brain. I just laughed silently in my head and joined in on the group's conversation.

"You can't just drop a bomb like that and not give me details." Santana grabbed me outside of the bathroom.

"Santana, I have to pee." I tried to move past her as she had moved to block the door.

"Tina asked you about your love life and I noticed your pronouns were not exactly gender specific. Quinn, tell me."

"San, this is not a 30 second conversation and that's how long I have until my bladder bursts."

I ran in past her without waiting for a response.

"Answer. Now." She ordered right as I exited the bathroom. At least she didn't follow me in.

"Why does it matter?" I asked her as I tried to walk back toward the gym, but she pulled me the other direction down the hall.

"Because it does. This is me, Quinn. You know why it matters."

We stopped and stood facing each other.

"I've dated guys. I've dated girls."

Yeah, she was definitely shocked.

"So, you're… you're bi?"

"I guess. I don't know. I don't really describe myself to people."

"When did you know? Before or after?"

"Before or after what? Our thing?"

"Yes, Quinn. Did you know before or after we fucked in a hotel room like 9 years ago?" Her tone was angry and she emphasized the word _fucked_.

"You know what, Santana, I get that you're mad at me for leaving and I get that this dating girls thing is a bit of a shock, but fuck you if you think I'm going to just stand here and answer your questions when you're going to talk to me like this." I turned to walk away.

"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean it like that."

"Then, think through stuff before you say it, San. Just ask me what you want to ask me, but lose the attitude."

I turned back toward her.

"Did our night together make you realize something?" She asked in a much kinder tone.

I smiled.

"That night was a great night."

"Yeah, it was," She agreed genuinely and not with her normal cocky sarcasm.

"It wasn't like I suddenly realized something. If I had, I would have talked to you about it. When I got to London, there was a girl. I liked her all right and she more than liked me. I thought I'd see if it was something I'd like with another girl."

"So you did like it with me? I knew it." There's the cocky sarcasm.

"Lose the ego, Lopez. You know I liked it. I told you I did."

"Yeah, you did." She winked at me. And again.

"I want to be clear, okay?"

She looked concerned.

"Okay."

"You weren't an experiment. You and I just… it was different. The girl in London was an experiment. We went on a few dates, but it didn't go anywhere."

"Thanks, Q. I appreciate you saying that." She took a deep breath. "So, I take it you liked it with her."

"Kind of. I had a boyfriend for a few months after that, but he wanted a life with me and I didn't see it going that far so I ended it. I met a girl at work and I liked her. She asked me out and I just said yes without thinking about things for once. We ended up dating for about 6 months before she ended it."

"_She_ ended it?" She looked surprised.

"I have been dumped before, Santana. She still had feelings for her ex. I think they're like engaged or something now. She switched to a different department about a year ago so I don't really talk to her much now."

"Is that all?" She asked while taking a step toward me.

"Yes, that's all. That's enough."

"Quinn, it's been like 6 years. Are you honestly telling me you've only had sex with 3 people during that time?"

"No. Those were the high points. I had a couple of flings here and there." I was embarrassed. I suddenly felt like a teenage boy who needed to defend his lack of sexual conquests.

"Quinn…"

"I've had sex with like 5 people in 6 years, Santana. That doesn't mean 5 times. It means 5 people. Why am I explaining this to you?"

She took another step toward me and put her hands around my waist.

"So, it's been a while then?"

"Not gonna happen, Santana." I backed away and started walking toward the gym.

She laughed loudly as she followed behind.

"I'm fucking kidding, Fabray. Relax or maybe that's impossible right now. Maybe you need a good lay to help you release that tension." She laughed again as she evened her pace with mine.

"I have no problem relieving tension myself," I jested.

"Maybe, but it's never as good when it's a solo job and you know it, Q."

We arrived back at the open doors. I was laughing along with her this time. Before we walked in, I put my hand on her arm and stopped her.

"Can we-" I started.

"You don't have to worry. I won't say anything to anyone," She offered.

"Oh, I'm not worried about that. I know you wouldn't do that. I just… this thing is almost over and I really need to get home soon to check on my mom. I was just going to ask if we can talk about this and other things tomorrow night still?"

She looked at me and winked.

"Tomorrow night, I'm all yours Q."


	4. Chapter 4

This story is heavy on flashbacks and they begin in this chapter. They will appear in italics and I will put the timeline as well so you can keep up.

Santana's POV:

_February 15__th__ About 9 Years Ago: _

_Last night, I had sex with Quinn Fabray. Twice. This morning, I had sex with Quinn Fabray once. That happened. Here's the thing. It's not like I've been pining over the girl for years. I always wanted to be with Brittany and that had nothing to do with the fact that Quinn was straight and therefore unattainable. Quinn was a best friend and that was all, but last night something changed between us and only part of that was the fact that we slept together. _

_It's like we had to stop talking… you know so we could have sex… to actually communicate without fighting or acting stupid. _

_The morning after wasn't awkward or anything, which surprised me since it was her first girl experience and I figured she'd wake up, shove my ass off the bed, kneel down and start praying to God for forgiveness and begging Him/ Her not to send her to hell for sinning. She didn't though and I realized I needed to start giving her credit for being this Quinn and not the Quinn I used to know. _

_We started talking more regularly after that night and she visited New York more and more while I visited New Haven a couple of times before the summer came. She returned to Lima to spend time with her mom and got a summer job to make money for her own place for sophomore year. I returned a couple of times to visit my old stomping ground and to see Brittany who had also returned. The three of us hung out a couple of times and it felt like things were as they should be. _

_We all returned to our respective new homes. Brittany went back to Boston, Quinn returned to Yale and I went back to NYC. Brittany got busy with school, which I know sounds ridiculous, but it's what happened. Quinn and I kept up with our visits and tried to talk weekly when we could. We both dated. She found a boyfriend that I could actually tolerate, which was a big step up for her and I got a girlfriend who I dated for about 6 months before ending it because she lived in Jersey and I got tired of always having to go back and forth just to see the girl. I know, I know. It's not like it's that far, but when you're taking classes at NYADA and working two jobs and trying to date someone that lives in another state, you hardly have time to sleep. I guess it just gets to a point where you either think it's worth it or you don't and I didn't. _

_About 8 years ago:_

_Quinn's semester abroad started the following spring. Her relationship ended when she went to London so she got there as a single girl._

"_How was class?" I asked her via Face Time. It was nearly midnight her time and I could tell she was tired as she stared into the screen from her lying down in bed position._

"_It was fine. Night classes are a pain though. Three hours of a professor with a dry, British wit trying to talk about business ethics is more than I can take. And that's after a morning class at 8 and a lunch with the other students in the program and then beers at the pub before the night class. I'm exhausted." She closed her eyes for a moment and shifted her position causing the IPad to fall over and I was then staring at her ceiling._

"_Um… Q? You're ceiling's nice and all, but the point of Face Time is to actually see the other person's face."_

_Her eyes opened and she noticed the IPad. She fixed it._

"_Sorry. Also, you sure you want to stare at this face right now? I'm sure I look like shit." She smiled._

_She looked tired, but Quinn never looked like shit. That's a fact._

"_Yeah, I'm sure. Did you get your test back?"_

"_Yeah, I got an A," She admitted._

"_Of course you did. All that worrying for nothing. You're lucky you had me to help you study."_

"_Yes, I am. Thank you for going over my notecards with me. By the way, how was your performance?"_

_I had my own version of tests at NYADA, but they weren't written. I was still taking extension classes, but I was planning on applying there for the fall. I was tired of everyone else I knew going to school for real while I was taking classes that got me no credit while slinging drinks on the side. _

"_I was awesome, of course."_

"_Oh, I had no doubt."_

_Her eyes closed again._

"_Hey Quinn, I was thinking about maybe coming to visit you."_

_Her eyes opened._

"_Here?"_

"_That's why I said visit you, dumb ass. If I wanted to go somewhere else, I would have said go on a vacation with you."_

"_Don't dumb ass me, San. I'm going on like 4 hours of sleep in 3 days."_

"_Yeah, yeah Oxford is hard. Blah. Blah." I paused. The truth was that I had given some thought to visiting her, but I didn't really decide to bring it up until right before I said it out loud. "What do you think?"_

"_Can you afford it?"_

"_Yeah, I've got that money from my mom and I've been saving from work. I'm hot so I make mad tip money."_

_She laughed a deep, sleepy laugh._

"_You know I don't have a lot of time, right? I mean, I want you to come, but I'm in class most of the day 5 days a week and I have homework."_

"_I don't have too, Q. I just thought it would be nice to go somewhere and you're already somewhere. I could see you and see stuff too."_

"_You just want to see me, I know." She smiled through the screen._

"_Anyway," I diverted her ego. "You're there for like another three months. You want some company for a few day or not?" I asked._

"_Book it."_

_A month later, I was being hugged by Quinn at the airport. It felt good to be hugging her again. Mostly because when you're away from someone for so long, even though you can talk on the phone and see them when you video chat, having them physically in front of you is really the only thing that confirms they are okay. _

"_I'm glad you're here," She declared as she pulled her arms away._

"_God, that flight was horrendous. I'm not down with this international travel. You're lucky I like you, Fabray." _

"_Can you ever just say 'Hello Quinn, I missed you and I'm excited to see you and be here?' I mean just once would be nice, Santana." _

"_Well, if I said it now you'd know it was just because you told me too. Do you want to waste that 'once' on today?"_

"_God, you're annoying. I've got to deal with you for 4 days." She considered and started walking me in the direction of baggage claim._

"_You mean you are lucky enough to enjoy my company and hotness for 4 days." I smiled at her and we stood side by side as we waited for the carousel to push my bag out in our direction. I gave her a sideways glance and determined that London had done her some good. She looked hot. Her hair was a little darker, which I hadn't really noticed on a screen when we talked and she seemed different, like she was glad to be away from her life for a while. I looped my arm in hers and leaned into her. "I missed you, Q." _

_She rested her head on my shoulder._

"_Is that the one time I asked for?" I could feel her laugh against my body._

"_Can't you ever just say 'I missed you too, Santana and I am excited you're here,' God, Q it's like you don't even appreciate that I just flew across the planet to see you for 4 days," I mocked her previous statement and she just laughed as we stood and watch the luggage go round and round. _

_Our first night was spent eating pizza in Quinn's room. I had arrived late in the afternoon and Quinn had homework to do and I was jet lagged. It wasn't until we were about to go to bed that I realized I hadn't given any thought to the sleeping arrangements while I was here. Quinn's room was a small dorm room on campus. She was lucky enough to have a sink, but shared a large bathroom with the rest of the floor. The room had a twin bed that really wasn't meant for two. I think universities choose twins so they can squeeze multiple people in one room, but also to try to discourage any kind of activities that would involve two people needing to share a bed. Either way, I'm not sleeping on the floor while I'm here and neither is princess Fabray._

"_Hey Q, you ready?" I asked and slid underneath the covers. She turned off the light and slid in next to me. She turned to face me, which caused me to turn to face her._

"_This is the first time we've shared a bed in a while, huh?" She brought up._

"_The last time was when I came to visit you at Yale and you shoved me off the bed in the middle of the night. Thanks for that, by the way. My ass hurt for a week." I poked her in the forehead with my finger._

"_I can't help what I do when I'm sleeping, San. I toss and turn a lot."_

"_Trust me, I'm well aware."_

"_Well, you kick me when you sleep."_

"_No, I don't," I argued._

"_Yes, you do. I just never mentioned it because I'm a nicer person than you," She lifted her eyebrows at me._

_I shoved her flat on her back and straddled her._

"_You are rarely nice, Quinn and I do not kick people in my sleep. No one else has complained. Take it back," I ordered and held her hands back over her head._

"_Those people probably want to have sex with you at some point so they keep it to themselves, but you are a kicker, Santana."_

_I leaned in and smiled._

"_Well, we both know you want to have sex with me."_

_She laughed loudly and released her hands from my light grip._

"_Been there. Done that, Lopez. Now, get off me so I can get some sleep. I have an 8am class tomorrow."_

_I obeyed and rolled off her and stared up at the ceiling._

"_Whatever. Like I'd even offer to do you again."_

"_Do me? Wow, how is it you manage to get all these girls with that language?"_

"_Oh please, you know I'm smooth with the ladies." I turned and winked at her. _

_She smiled and I could see her eyelids were about to close. _

"_I'm glad you're here, San." She admitted and I turned to face her as her eyes closed._

"_I'm glad I'm here too, Q," I whispered and closed my eyes. _


	5. Chapter 5

Quinn's POV:

_About 8 Years Ago:_

_My class seemed to take forever and all I wanted to do was grab Santana from my room so I could show her around this place I had grown to love. I walked quickly out of the building and instead found her standing at the bottom of the staircase holding two coffee cups._

"_I'm not a tea person, but when in Rome, right?" She told me and handed me a cup that I could now see a tea bag hanging under the lid._

"_You got us tea?" _

"_Yeah, I'm here for the experience." She took a sip. "This is terrible, by the way."_

_I laughed at her._

"_I thought I was picking you up," I reported._

"_You were, but I woke up early and figured I'd meet you here instead. Got myself a map of this place and everything. I just got here a minute ago."_

_We had lunch together and I walked her around the campus pointing out buildings I liked and places I'd gone with some of the other students in the program. By 5, we were ready for a break so we headed back to my room. _

"_You have a class tonight, right?" She asked as she changed into some shorts and tank top. I set my books on my desk and decided to lie in the bed._

"_Yeah, but I'm not going," I admitted as she plopped down next to me over the covers. We had decided to take a nap since we were both exhausted._

"_You'd miss me too much, wouldn't you?"_

"_You wish. You just wore me out and now I need to sleep. You are exhausting, Lopez." I faced her and put my hands under my head. She matched my position. I smiled at her so she would know I was joking._

_She smiled back._

"_I had fun today. Thank you for showing me around. You seem happy here, Quinn."_

"_I am. I like it here." I paused. Her dark brown hair had gathered at the base of her neck. I reached out to push it back and touched her neck lightly in the process. Her eyes darted from my hand to my eyes like she was trying to figure something out. "Stop eye fucking me, Lopez." I told her and laughed._

"_Did you just say eye fucking, Fabray?" She turned to lie flat and laughed. "That's hilarious coming out of your mouth for some reason and for the record, I was not the one eye fucking you. Pretty sure it was your hand on my body there, blondie."_

_I laughed at her._

"_I was moving your damn hair. Don't read into it."_

_The next two days flew by. We went all over the city sometimes on foot, sometimes by train, and sometimes by taxi. I missed having someone around that reminded me of home. Even when you're trying to move on with your life, it's still nice having someone around that reminds you of where you came from and who you were. It was also nice to show her around here because this place had really become a home to me and I was already thinking about how in two months, I would have to return to Lima for yet another summer. _

_It was Santana's last night and I wanted to take her out even though I was tired and she had an early flight the next morning. I didn't know of any gay clubs so I just took her to one I had gone to a couple of time with some girls from the floor. It was in a decent neighborhood and we had always had a good time there._

_It was a busy night. There were people everywhere and the music was loud. A couple of girls from the program were there so we sat at their table since all the others were taken. Santana has always been more of an extravert than me so she had no problem just starting the conversation and getting to know the two of them while I sat back and listened while taking periodic drinks of my beer, which tasted gross, but was half-off tonight so I'd deal with it. _

_A waitress came over and dropped a replacement drink for Santana._

"_I didn't order this," Santana told her._

"_No, that guy ordered it for you." She walked off._

_We all looked in the direction she pointed and noticed a guy in a polo shirt with a popped collar looking in Santana's direction._

"_I think he's more your type than mine, Q. Why don't you take this?" She pushed the drink toward me and we all watched as the guy shifted his glance to me and smiled while lifting his eyebrows. I was way too tired to put up with getting hit on by strangers so I picked up the glass and as another waitress walked by, I handed it to her to give back to him._

"_No thanks." I shook my head at Santana._

"_That's a party foul, girl. You never give back the drinks they give you. You just don't fuck them after," she explained the rules to me._

"_Well sorry, but I don't really want to get drunk tonight or fuck someone. So, I think I'll just stick to my beer."_

"_You could at least make out with someone tonight. Drunk or not. When was the last time you made out with a stranger just for fun?" She leaned in to ask that one and glanced over to the other two who had taken to talking with two guys at the table behind us._

"_I've never made out with a stranger, Santana, but you know that and I'm not letting you talk me into doing something just because it's something you'd do."_

_She smiled._

"_Come on. Have fun, Q. Let loose for once in your damn precious life." She whispered that one in my ear and the alcohol mixed with that damn voice of hers started to make me question my decision to not do something stupid._

"_Compromise?" I offered._

"_I'm listening." She lengthened the word listening as she leaned back a little._

"_I don't want to make out with a stranger."_

"_Boring."_

"_But I will make out with someone I know." She smiled and her eyes went wide. She looked over at the other two who were still chatting away. She downed the rest of her drink and grabbed my hand pulling me away from the table and through the crowd. "Santana!" I tried to yell, but she couldn't hear me over the music. We arrived at her destination, which was outside the building and around a corner where we were basically alone as everyone's attention was toward the sound and not on two crazy, drunk girls wandering off to the side of the action. She pinned me against the wall and her hands went to my sides. She leaned in, but then pulled herself back while keeping her hands in place._

"_Wait. Is this okay? You did mean me, right?" She asked me._

_I laughed lightly at her._

"_I was just messing with you, San." I admitted._

_She let go of my sides._

"_Fuck, Q. What the hell? Get me all hot and bothered like that and now you're just fucking with me?"_

"_I didn't know you were all hot and bothered, San. Since when did I do that to you?" I tried to reach out, but she took a step back.  
"It's not like that. I'm not like obsessed with you or whatever, Q, but you know you look good tonight and it's been a while for both of us is my guess. It's not like we haven't done it before."_

"_Santana, we can't just sleep together because we want-" Her lips attacked mine and her hands were wrapped around my waist. I was back against the wall and my arms went around her neck pulling her in. She tasted like rum and I was sure I tasted like cheap beer, but her tongue met mine and I remembered what it felt like the first time we kissed. It had been over a year and I could still remember every touch. Her hand went under my dress and on my thigh and she lifted my leg off the ground. Her hand made a move to inside my thigh and I realized where she was headed. I put my hand on her arm and pulled my mouth away from hers._

"_What's wrong?" She asked between quick breaths._

"_I don't want this." The way it came out was wrong and she removed her hands from my body and tucked them into her jeans pockets._

"_I'm sorry, Q. I just thought… Fuck. I don't know what I thought. I'm sorry. You just look really hot tonight and I thought you were flirting with me and I don't want to screw anything up with us. I'm sorry."_

_I took a step toward you.  
"It's okay. You don't have to be sorry. I just don't… I don't want this with you. You're-"_

"_I know I'm your best friend and this is just a mistake." She turned to walk away._

"_I didn't say that. Santana, stop walking away." I pulled her arm to get her to face me. "Last year wasn't a mistake and thirty seconds ago wasn't a mistake. It's my fault for teasing you earlier and I'm sorry, but you and I both know, we shouldn't be kissing each other or doing anything else."_

_She took my hand in hers and stared down at them._

"_I know. You're right, but you're not allowed to look this good if you don't want me all up on you." She winked at me and smiled._

_I laughed at her._

"_Can we just get out of here and go back to the room and get you packed and go to sleep?"_

"_Boring."_

_I laughed at her again and let go of her hand as we walked toward the front of the building so we could catch a cab. I could still taste the rum on my lips as I fell asleep next to her and I could definitely feel her arm drape over my body and her head on my shoulder and I couldn't help thinking about how good it felt._


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for all your reviews, PMs, alerts, and favorites. You all continue to be very nice to me and I greatly appreciate you encouraging me to continue. Chapter 6 is here and I may even get to posting Chapter 7 later tonight. If not, I will continue with my daily posting of at least 1 chapter/day until the story is complete. I hope you all continue to enjoy this one. Things are about to get interesting and this is the chapter where it really begins.

Santana's POV:

Why was I nervous about getting ready for a dinner with Quinn? I'm never nervous. I guess it's just that with everything she told me last night, the idea of us going to dinner is suddenly awkward. It shouldn't be. Just because she may be into girls now doesn't mean anything's going to happen with us. It can't anyway so why do I feel like I'm about to pick up a girl for a date? Why am I wearing my "get some" dress and heels? I cannot be going through this again. I arrived at her mom's house and it reminded me of all the times I picked her up for school or for cheer practice.

"Seriously Lopez, what the hell is wrong with you?" I scolded myself, turned off the ignition and got out of the car. I almost made it to the front door when I heard it open and saw Quinn walk out. It appeared that those old sundresses were indeed not clothing of the past. She was wearing a black and white number with ballet flats and her hair was down and it had a little curl in it tonight. I felt less bad about spending all that time getting ready when I realized she had done the same thing.

"Hey," she greeted and walked down the stairs clutching her tiny purse between her hands.

"Hey, I was going to knock, but you're obviously in a hurry." She stopped right in front of me.

"You said it last night. My mom's not your number one fan. You ready?" She walked past me and toward my car.

"What's up with that? She's still got a problem with me being gay even though you're not exactly straight these days? She clearly hasn't disowned you again."

I caught up with her and walked to her side of the car before realizing I shouldn't open her door for her. This is not a date.

"She doesn't know about me, San. Please don't tell her."

I got to the driver's side door and hopped in. She got in next to me and I looked at her.

"If anyone understands this secret, it's me. I won't say anything, but you really should tell her someday, Q. What if you end up with a girl? You planning to just tell her that you have a roommate that you share your whole life with? What if you want kids with her? How are you going to explain that one?"

"Not really something I need to worry about now. I'm starving. Can we just get food now please?"

"Impatient little brat." I pointed out and started driving us toward the restaurant I was a little nervous to bring her too.

When we arrived, I had the valet park the car for us and he greeted me with "Miss Lopez." Quinn was a little confused.

"You come here a lot?" She asked as we walked in the front door.

"Something like that." I looked at the hostess.

"Miss Lopez, you're table's ready." She ushered us through the crowded restaurant where a few of the waiters nodded at me and I followed her to the back room I had set aside. She sat our specially designed menus down on the only table in the room that was divided from the rest of the restaurant by frosted French doors. I sat down and Quinn sat and looked around.

"Santana, what's going on? Why are we in our own room?"

I smiled at her.

"When you own the restaurant, you can pretty much do whatever you want."

She looked surprised, which was exactly what I was going for.  
"You own this place?"

"This one and one in New York and another in San Francisco. I'm opening one in Chicago in a few months and strangely enough, London is next on our list of locations." Again, the look of surprise. "A lot can happen when you disappear, Q."

"I guess. How did you…? I mean, what about music and performing?"

"I do that sometimes. There's a place in New York where I perform a couple of times a month. I found this musician after you left who was amazing and me being the type to not shy away from confrontation, I pushed my way into a club and got the owner to give him a spot on the stage. He caught the eye of a scout who introduced him to a record label guy who I then met and he liked me and asked me to be a scout. I did that for about a minute until I figured out I'd make a lot more money as a manager instead. I used the money my mom gave me to get a small office and hire a couple of people and we did well. We got bought by a huge company and they kept us on. So, I made a lot of money in the sale and I still make a lot of money repping artists. Someone I knew wanted to start a restaurant in the city. So, I invested. It worked and I thought I'd open one here so this crappy town had somewhere else to eat other than Breadstix."

"Wow! I mean… that's a lot San. That's amazing. How did you do all this in a few years?"

"A few years is a lot less than 6 years, Quinn." Our waitress came in and poured our water and opened the wine for us, pouring it slowly into our glasses. "I would have invited you to the opening, but…"

"Yeah, I know. I'm horrible." She paused and looked right into my eyes. "I'm proud of you, San."

"You should be. I'm fucking amazing. I mean who owns multiple restaurants _and_ works for a giant management company at my age?"

She laughed and took a drink of her wine.

"Yes, you are amazing."

"Calm down, Q. I know I look good and now you know I'm pretty loaded, but we are not getting freaky tonight." I winked at her while I took my own drink.

"You really should stop assuming I want to sleep with you."

"Please, everyone wants to sleep with me. I'm off-limits though." There I said it.

Her stare changed and I couldn't really understand what her eyes were saying.

"Off-limits, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm all domesticated now. Figured it was about time."

She took another drink without taking her eyes off mine.

"Who's the lucky girl? I need all the details about the girl who managed to tame Santana Lopez."

Our appetizer arrived.

"I ordered everything in advance. I hope that's okay. If you don't like it, you can order something off the regular menu."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Stop stalling, Lopez."

"Her name is Olivia. She runs my New York restaurant. I hired her last year and we hit it off. We've been together since then."

"Wow. You really have changed."

"We're not exactly kids anymore. Honestly, I was waiting for you to tell me last night about your amazing husband, Gary or something."

She laughed her deep laugh.

"Gary? Why is his name, Gary?"

I laughed.

"I don't know, Q. Seems like you'd end up with something like that. Gary or Robert or Norman."

She nearly spat out the bite she had just taken.

"Norman?! Jesus, Santana! I'd never date a Norman."

"Like I'd believe you. You told me it was just a one-time thing and then I find out you were hitting up chicks all over Londontown."

"I think you remember things differently than I do. For one, it was a two-time thing that night and another time in the morning and I seem to remember another night in that Londontown when someone stuck her tongue down my throat."

She tasted like beer that night.

"And I remember someone pushing me away and telling me she didn't want it."

"You knew what I meant, Santana."

I leaned back in my chair.

"It doesn't matter anymore. This is stupid. Let's talk about something else."

"Fine. Tell me about this Olivia."

"I already did."

"You told me her name and occupation. I'm looking for a little more here, Santana."

I took a bite to stall. I wasn't sure why I was stalling. I loved Olivia. I was excited to get back to the city to see her, but there was something about being with Quinn tonight that made me not want to talk about my girlfriend of almost a year.

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked her.

"As long as you answer mine."

"Do you ever think about that night?" I gulped awaiting her response.

"The wedding?"

"Yeah. Do you ever think about it?"

"Of course, I think about it. It was a pretty big deal for me. I know it wasn't really a big deal for you, but yeah I think about it."

I leaned in.

"Quinn, why would you think it wasn't a big deal for me?"

She leaned in and I had to avert my eyes because her dress was low cut. I started chanting to myself. "You have a girlfriend. You have a girlfriend."

"Um… because it wasn't exactly your first time with a girl, San."

I took a deep breath and looked deeply into those hazel eyes.

"No, but it was my first time with you."

She just stared at me.


	7. Chapter 7

Last one for the night. Let's just say things are about to get real.

Quinn's POV:

"You really shouldn't say something like that to a girl who's not your girlfriend," I told her while I was really trying to decipher her meaning. She kept looking at me like she did that night and I know I've seen her looking down my dress on at least 2 occasions.

"I told you years ago you're not allowed to look all hot in front of me anymore so I blame you, Fabray."

"Santana, stop." I laughed trying to break the tension that had somehow developed.

She leaned in and clasped her hands on the table.

"I can't help it, Quinn. You've taken me by surprise here. You just pop up out of nowhere and you look… well, you know and you tell me you've been with girls and it's like suddenly you're a possibility or something and I know that's wrong because I have someone and I've never cheated on her, but right now, all I can think about is that night and the one in London and what it felt like when I had you up against that wall and it's wrong and I know it's the old Santana and I'm sorry. I'm just fucking…"

She faded out and my heart pounded inside my chest. I had been thinking the same thing and when she told me she had a girlfriend, I had to try to calm the feeling between my legs that had really started much earlier when I saw her for the first time in that dress. My brain finally took over and I was able to speak.

"San, we can't talk like this."

"I know. Just tell me you don't want me like that so I can tell myself you're _not_ a possibility and we can just eat dinner and everything will be fine."

I knew I should tell her that I don't want her. I knew I should do the right thing. She has a girlfriend. She loves someone and that someone is not me. This is not okay, but I couldn't say anything.

Santana stood and walked toward the frosted doors. She opened one and walked out. I just sat still. I noticed her purse was still in the other chair so I guessed she just needed to cool off, which wasn't a bad idea. I stood and paced around the room for a moment before hearing the door close. I turned to see her standing there facing the door. She turned the lock and walked toward me slowly while kicking off her heels.

"Santana, what's going on?"

She stood in front of me and leaned in. Her lips were barely touching mine and I stopped breathing.

"You have to tell me to stop, Q."

Do the right thing, Quinn.

"I don't want you to stop."

I pulled her by the neck and slammed our lips together. She pushed us back so we were against the wall and I flashed back momentarily to that night in London and how much I wanted it, but knew it was a bad idea. Again, I wanted it, but it was a bad idea. Worse now because she had a girlfriend. Her lips moved to my neck.

"Fuck, Santana. Get my dress off." I ordered her as I tried to reach for my zipper, which was on the side.

She unzipped it for me and slid the straps down off my shoulders. I shimmied the dress down to my hips and she followed it with her mouth as she moved her lips down my stomach. Her tongue met my belly button and my hand went to the top of her head. She slid the dress the rest of the way off my body and tossed it aside. Her mouth attached itself to my center over my underwear and I moaned audibly.

"God Quinn, you're so fucking hot." She pushed her tongue into my clit through my underwear and I grasped her hair, pulling it hard.

"What if someone comes in?" I finally remembered to ask.

"Why do you think I left? I told them to leave us the hell alone."

She stood up and I took the opportunity to encourage her out of her dress by unzipping it in the back and basically shoving it down her body until she finally pushed it off the rest of the way. She hadn't worn a bra tonight and I smiled when I saw her chest for the first time in nearly a decade.

She reached behind me and tore my bra off dropping it to the floor before leaning in to kiss me again and pressing her chest into mine. Her hands moved to my hips and she began pulling my underwear down. I followed her lead and pulled hers down so all of our parts could be pressed together. We halted our progress for a moment and made eye contact.

"I'm against a wall, San. What are you waiting for?" I moved a thigh between hers and pushed so it was flush against her. Her head rolled backwards at the contact before she leaned into it and rocked her body against me. Her lips went to my earlobe and she sucked it into her mouth.

"I want to be inside you," she confessed and I took her by the wrist and moved her hand in that direction before she wriggled free of my grip and moved her body back so she could move her fingers to my…

"Oh God!" I cried out hoping the entire restaurant hadn't heard me as she circled my clit with two fingers. She slid down my body to remove my underwear entirely and in order to do so, she had to remove her fingers, which I missed immediately. She removed her underwear and tossed them behind us. I think they ended up on the table with our unfinished appetizer. She returned to kiss me and her fingers went back to work on my clit, but only for a few moments before they slid down and inside my body. "Shit, that feels good!" She moved them in and out as her hips helped apply both pressure and friction. It had been a while so I was sure it wouldn't take me long. Plus, it was Santana and this girl always knew what she was doing so I thought I'd only last a few seconds. She leaned into me and started sucking on my pulse point. I was sure I'd have a mark there tomorrow. She heard my breath going faster and "I'm almost… Santana."

"Q, don't yet. I don't want it to be over." I thought about what she was saying and I didn't want it to be over either so I took my hand that had been behind her neck and moved it down to her wrist. She pulled back to look at me and understood what I wanted without words. She slowed her pace inside me and pressed her forehead against mine. We exchanged short kisses and our tongues met and twisted together several times.

"San, can you…" I kissed her and used my tongue to flick the back of her teeth. She kissed me one more time before moving down. She briefly took one of my nipples in her mouth and I almost came at the touch, but I had to hold on because… "Yeah, right there." She lifted my leg higher and put it on her shoulder and was sucking on my clit and it felt like it did that night in the hotel when she did that for the first time and I came immediately. I had to hold off this time though because I needed to feel her do more to my body. She licked up my center as her fingers sped up their pace inside and she curled them into me. My knuckles were white as I clutched her hair and pushed her further into me. "Jesus, yes! God, yes!" I shouted as I came after one particular forceful thrust of her fingers combined with her pulsing her tongue against my clit. I was grateful Santana's restaurant played music particularly loud.

She stayed on her knees and continued at a slower pace before removing her fingers and licking them clean. She stood and met my eye.

This was the moment she would step back and tell me this was a mistake, I thought, but she didn't. She kissed me again and I tasted myself on her lips.

"Touch me, Q." It wasn't an order, but a request and a plea between kisses.

I pushed her backwards.

"How important are these dishes to you?" I asked as I stumbled toward the table with her.

"Fuck! Break them!"

I moved beside her and swept my hand across the table knocking our half-full glasses and plates on the floor. I heard the glass break in the background, but I didn't care. I shoved her on the table and spread her legs so I could stand between them. I leaned over her and sucked on her nipple while massaging the other one with my hand.

"Miss Lopez, is everything okay?" I heard a voice beyond the door ask.

"Fuck!" Santana screamed as I lightly bit down. "I'm fine. Go away!" She yelled at them and I laughed as I moved my mouth to cover hers.

"What do you want?" I asked. I wanted to make sure I gave her everything she wanted and more if I could.

"You. Just…" She faded as I sucked her bottom lip between mine. I moved my hand to her entrance and pushed two fingers inside. She was so wet and it felt amazing that I was the one who made her that way. "God, that feels so good, Q." I stood up so I could get better leverage and grabbed her hip with my free hand. I began thrusting my fingers in and out. I watched her head roll back and her hands moved to cover my breasts.

"God, San. How does this feel so good?" I asked her not expecting an answer and not really getting one either unless you can count moans as an answer.

The table was rocking slightly and I could only hope it wouldn't collapse because I wasn't stopping. I was speeding up my thrusts and curling my fingers and moving my hand from her hip to her breast so I could tweak her nipple and at that, she screamed and her body froze beneath me.

"Oh my God! Fuck Fabray! That was…" She pronounced, but I wasn't finished. I pulled my fingers out and kneeled down. I pulled her closer to the edge of the table and took her into my mouth. "Oh God!" It had been a while since I'd done this, but everything was coming back to me and when her hand went to my head, I knew I was doing something right. I pushed my tongue inside before pulling it out and flattening it against her and dragging it up. It only took a few seconds before she came again and I kissed the inside of her thighs before standing up to face her. We were both breathing hard and I think we were using it as an excuse to not talk because neither of us knew what to say. She stood in front of me and leaned in. I thought she was going to kiss me again so my arms went around her waist.

"This can't leave this room, Q." She declared and pulled away.


	8. Chapter 8

Santana's POV:

I pulled into the driveway and stopped the car. I stared out the window because I couldn't look at her. We had gotten dressed quickly at the restaurant and hadn't spoken a word since we left. I couldn't believe what I had done. I had a girl in New York that I was planning on moving in with soon and I just fucked Quinn in the middle of my damn restaurant because I had to do it. It was like a compulsion. I'd gone so long without seeing her and with thinking about her constantly and some of those thoughts were dirty ones. And now, I've gotten myself into this mess where after years of just wanting to see her, I can't even look at her.

"San?" Her voice was soft and unsure.

"Yeah?" Mine was even softer and more unsure.

"I'm sorry."

I looked over at her. She was staring at the floorboard. Her hair was still a mess from earlier.

"For what?"

"I should have told you to stop."

"Hey, look at me for a second." I pushed the hair behind her ears to encourage her to face me. She slowly turned her head and I could see a tear rolling down her cheek. She wiped it away before I could. "I'm the one with the girlfriend. I'm the one who brought it up. I'm the one who has to live with the guilt and I'm the one who should feel terrible for putting you in this situation and I do. This is not your fault, Quinn."

"Yes, it is. I'm not innocent in this. I wanted something and I didn't care who I hurt in the process," she confessed.

"I just missed you so much, Quinn. We had this amazing night and I knew… I knew you were serious when you said it was one night. We have a moment while you're at Oxford and I wanted you in that moment and in other moments and then we were closer than ever when you got back and I was glad because I thought we had made it through everything we had done to each other and we were in this friendship thing or-"

"And then I left?" She cut me off before I could say or maybe more. That in combination with everything else got me angry.

"I was at your fucking graduation, Quinn. I was there cheering when you got your diploma and threw that damn cap in the air and I hugged you after and I went to your party and you never told me you had a job lined up or that you were moving to another continent."

She leaned over and pressed her forehead against mine.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"I know." I pulled back. "You should go."

"Santana, we should keep talking about this. There's obviously more to say."

"I can't, Quinn. I told you it can't leave that room. I leave for New York on Monday and you're in London in a week."

"You want to just go back to how it was before?"

"I have too, Quinn."

"Santana, this is stupid." She looked at me. "We don't have to go back. We can talk. I'm not going to tell anyone about this."

"It's not like that. I know you won't. I just need some time to get my shit together. I haven't been able to think straight since I first saw you last night and I need to be away from you and not talking to you and I need to see my fucking girlfriend and try to figure out if I should tell her what the hell I did."

"You can't tell her, San."

"That's easy for you to say. This is the first serious relationship I've ever had and I had to go and fuck it up. I don't want to lie to her, Quinn."

"It's not going to happen again, is it?"

I looked at her to check her eyes for meaning. I wasn't sure what I found there. I used to be able to read her so well and now I'm struggling.

"No," I answered. "It can't happen again."

"Then, you shouldn't tell her. You'd only be doing it to try to feel less guilty and you'd only make her feel terrible and you could lose her. If you love her, don't tell her. I'll go home and I'll leave you alone. I knew I shouldn't have gone to the fucking reunion."

I smiled at her.

"You know it still sounds funny to me whenever you use that word."

She laughed and hung her head.

"I'm going to miss you." She grabbed her purse from the floor and opened the door.

She got out of the car and closed the door behind her. I leaned my head against my elbow on the driver's side door and watched as she rushed into her mom's house without turning around to look at me.

When I got back to my parent's house, I escaped quickly to my old room. It's always strange when I come back here. Normally, I'd bring Olivia, but she was in France at some pastry chef academy. Whenever she came with me, we'd stay in a hotel because despite my high school activities with the ladies at home, I felt awkward now bringing a girl home and sleeping in the same bed with my parents sharing a wall. This time, I was solo so I just stayed with them. I closed the door behind me trying to lock out my shame. I walked over to the dresser and removed my earrings. I stared into the mirror before shifting my glance and noticing an old picture of Quinn, Brittany and I in our Cheerios uniforms. I heard my phone go off in my purse and part of me hoped it was Q telling me she needed to talk more and the other half wanted it to be anyone else in the world just so that it wasn't Quinn. I grabbed it and saw Olivia's name on the screen. I took a deep breath.

"Hey." It wasn't the best of greetings after having not talked to her for three days, but it was all I could offer at this point.

The next morning, I woke up still in my dress from the night before. I walked into the bathroom, tore it and the rest of my clothes off my body, and jumped into a scalding hot shower. I had gone from trying to lock the shame out to trying to wash it off my body with soap and burning hot water. Flashes of Quinn's body on mine popped into my brain and I had to put my hand against the wall to hold myself up. I couldn't hold my head up and I definitely couldn't hold back my tears.

I couldn't even recognize this feeling. I regretted every moment of it, but I could never regret it at the same time because I wanted it so damn much. I wanted her so damn much. Whether you want someone or not though, when you know they're not ever going to look at you that way, you push the possibility of it ever happening out of your mind. That's what I did. Twice. I pushed her away. Then, she left and all I wanted was her. I thought losing Brittany was hard, but losing Quinn was harder because she was completely gone from my life.

When I saw her standing waiting to walk into that gym, I thought a thought I shouldn't have thought. There's the one that got away. But she was never mine to begin with and I have one right now. That's why I didn't tell her last night and that's why I'm not going to tell her about what happened.

When I got out of the shower, I saw a new text on my phone. Rachel wanted me to meet her and Tina for lunch and to go to the dress shop. I thought about turning them down, but I needed to get out of the house and I needed something to keep my mind off of what I did. Hanging with Berry may still be annoying even after all these years, but her constant chattering on about all things Broadway would help occupy my thoughts.

I arrived at the restaurant and they were sitting at an outside table. I sat down and ordered a bloody Mary and stared at the menu. I hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday. I was starving.

"So, I want you two to see the one I picked out. If you hate it though, you can't tell me because I've already bought it and I love it," Tina said and took a drink of her water.

"I'm sure we'll love it. I'm glad you're getting married here. It's nice doing it at home even though you've moved away and made another place your home." Rachel took the lemon of her water and set it on a napkin. "What about you, Santana? You popping the question to Olivia anytime soon?" She asked me.

"Um… hey guys." I heard her voice come from behind me and my shocked expression must have made Rachel think I was reacting to her question and not the fact that I had just washed this girl off my body and now she's standing behind me.

"Santana, you've been together for like a year. You two should at least be living together by now. You're always staying together at your place anyway." She said that part to me and then looked up to greet Quinn. "Hi, Quinn. Have a seat. We were just talking about Santana asking Olivia to marry her."

"No, we weren't." I gathered myself enough to express that point loudly.

"Glad you could make it, Quinn. We really didn't get to catch up that much at the reunion." Tina moved her purse so Quinn could take the seat next to me and I could smell her perfume come with the breeze as she walked past.

"Yeah, Santana kind of monopolized most of your time," Rachel added.

I couldn't look at her. It was less than 24 hours ago that I had told her I needed to not talk to her and here she is.

"I didn't know you were going to be here, Santana," she explained in my direction without making eye contact with me.

"I just got a text from Kurt," Rachel divulged while staring at her phone. "They're still in Hawaii. The weather just let up though so he's thinking they should get back to New York soon." She told the group and then looked at Quinn. "Kurt and Blaine got married last year. Kurt's been busy at Vogue so they weren't able to take a real honeymoon until now. They've been planning it forever and then the reunion invites came out. He feels bad that he missed it so I've been sending him pictures and updates. He said hello by the way and also wants to know what the hell you've been doing with yourself, ya bitch. Those are his words; not mine."

I could feel her look from Rachel to me.  
"I'm happy for them. I'll get his number later and give him a call sometime."

"Santana, are you okay? You look pale." Tina reached over to touch my arm. I think she needed to check to see if I was still alive. I pulled my arm back.

"I'm fine. I just haven't eaten anything in a while. Can we just order?" I knew I couldn't just leave without having to explain myself to everyone and that was something I could not do because I couldn't even explain things to myself yet.

I felt my phone vibrate and I looked down to see a text from Quinn. I looked over without meeting her eye and I could see her phone in her lap with her thumbs hovering over the keys. I looked down at the message.

Quinn: I'm sorry. I really didn't know. Do you want me to go?

I typed out a quick message. Her phone buzzed and she looked down. She typed a response while Tina and Rachel continued to talk about the wedding.

Quinn: I'll just tell them I don't feel well.

I typed another response and looked around for the waitress. I needed my damn drink.

Another buzz. I looked down.

Quinn: Please don't be like this. Talk to me.

I clicked my phone away from my texts and tossed it into my purse. The waitress arrived and I downed half my drink in one gulp before setting it back down. Quinn ordered an iced tea and the waitress took our food order. When she walked away, I saw a hand with slender fingers reach for my glass. I looked up to watch her take a prolonged drink.

"This is going to be a long day," I announced to the group.


	9. Chapter 9

Flashback time. You're going to start seeing how these two got to where they are now. Thank you for your continued reviewing, favoriting (pretend that's a word), following, and PMing. It really encourages me to continue.

Quinn's POV:

_About 6 Years Ago:_

"_Santana, will you hurry up? I'm going to be late for my own graduation." I was dressed in my cap and gown already and standing by my car outside my apartment. Santana had been staying with me for the week so she could help me pack up my stuff for the move back to Lima. I had some feelers out for jobs, but nothing had come of it yet so I was just going back to Ohio to consider my options. I was thinking graduate school would be a good thing to do with my time if none of these jobs panned out. "San, let's go. My mom's already there." _

"_I'm coming. I'm coming. I'm sorry. Jesus, Quinn. Relax." She ran out of the building in her four-inch heels. "I know you think I look this damn good all the time, but this brand of perfection doesn't just happen."_

"_Let's go," I ordered and slid into the driver's seat._

"_So damn demanding all the time. Why do I put up with you?"  
"Because you love me."_

"_Yeah, yeah. Don't push it."_

_She hopped in and we drove to campus. She hugged me before letting me go in the direction of the graduates and she walked off to sit next to my mom, which I knew would be awkward. My mom still wasn't quite adjusted to my friendship with Santana. It was fine before she knew she was gay, but now that she knows and she sees how close we are, she worries her mistake addled daughter may join the other team. She'll never know about Valentine's Day or London because it might shock her to death. Literally._

_When I got my diploma, I looked out to the huge crowd and I could spot Santana from a mile away despite her height. She was screaming my name and applauding loudly even though you're supposed to hold your applause to the end. My mom was looking at her with disbelief. I just laughed and walked off stage. Finally, I could get on with my life. College was over. I could move wherever I wanted and do whatever I wanted too until I found a job. _

_I wanted a change from New Haven and I wanted a chance to break free from everything people knew about me. That's why I spent time interviewing in London for some entry-level positions. I had been happy there. I knew it was a long shot, but I had to try anyway._

_At the end of the ceremony, San hugged me again. I wrapped my arms around her waist and breathed in her scent. It had been over three years since our hook-up and a couple since our kiss, but I knew I wanted to do that again. The kiss part first and then maybe lead up to the other stuff._

_She had just turned into the one person I could really count on these past few years. She was there for me when my relationship ended and I was there for her when she ended it with her girlfriend. We had made it through all this crap together and we were finally getting to the good stuff where we could just talk and be honest and I put up with her always being late and she put up with me always being busy with school._

_My Yale apartment only had one bedroom and we'd always just shared the bed when she stayed over. Last night, while I was staring at my cap and gown hanging on the bathroom door, I made a decision. I was going to ask Santana Lopez out on a date. I can only hope I don't mess this up. _

_After she pulled away from our hug, my mom pushed her way in and embraced me while crying about her baby being all grown up and telling me how proud she is of me. I looked over at Santana who was checking her phone and laughing about something. My mom let me go when she realized I actually needed to breathe and said she'd go back to the apartment to finish setting up for this party she insisted on having even though the rest of my extended family was in Ohio and the majority of my Yale friends were also graduating and would therefore be busy. There were a few that I knew would be there though and Santana would be there, so I thought it wouldn't be that bad._

"_What are you laughing about?" I asked her._

_She finished a text and looked up at me._

"_Do you remember that girl I told you about?"_

"_Which one?" I mocked._

"_Ha. The only one I've been talking about lately, Q. Gillian, the film student at NYU? Ringing any bells or are you too focused on your big ole nerdcomplishment?" She smiled at me and I remembered her mentioning this Gillian she had met at work and liked._

"_I remember, why?"_

"_She just asked me out."_

"_She did?" My heart rate increased in speed._

"_Yeah. Finally, right? I don't really know how she was able to resist me for this long."_

"_Ha, yeah." I faked enthusiasm. "What did you say?"_

"_Yes, obviously. She's hot and I've spent more than 20 minutes with her and she doesn't bore me. So, we're going out when I get back to NYC. Looks like Snix is gonna be getting some."_

"_Congrats." It was less convincing this time._

"_Congrats to you too, Q. This is a big deal. This is what you always said you wanted and now you've done it. What are you going to do now and you're not allowed to say you're going to Disneyland… unless you're taking me with you and we are not riding that lame tea cup ride."_

_I couldn't help but laugh despite my disappointment._

"_Lima for now and then either a job or grad school. Big plans, I know."_

"_I told you not to go back there. That place has a way of sucking you back into the lame. You can stay with me until you find something. You know that."_

"_I know. I'll be okay. I won't be there long. Something's bound to come up."_

"_Yeah, you're a Yale smarty. Someone's going to offer you something amazing soon." Her phone buzzed again and she looked down at the message and laughed._

_We got back to the apartment my mom had decorated with streamers and a Congrats Graduate banner. I went through the motions wondering how a day that had started off so promising had ended up with me getting my heart broken. _

_I watched Santana as she made friends with my friends and as she helped my mom get people drinks even though I knew it was awkward for her. Screw this. Gillian is in New York and I'm here. Gillian just met Santana like a month ago. I've known her forever. Gillian is not her girlfriend yet so I have every right to ask Santana my question and let her make her choice._

_I heard my phone ring at that and walked over to the counter to pick it up. The room was loud so I took the call in my bedroom after closing the door._

"_Hello?" _

"_May I speak with Miss Quinn Fabray?" It was a man with an English accent._

"_This is she." I was proud of myself for using correct grammar._

"_This is Jack Winston. You interviewed with me for a position a few weeks ago."_

"_Yes, hello Mr. Winston."_

"_I wanted to see if you were still searching for employment. If so, we'd like to offer you the position here in London."_

_My heart thudded against my chest._

"_Really?"_

"_Yes, when would you be able to start?"_

"_How soon do you need me there?"_

_We discussed the details of my new job and I hung up the phone. I clutched it to my chest in disbelief. I was moving to London. _


	10. Chapter 10

I must be in a really good mood today because here is Chapter 10.

Santana's POV:

I barely spoke during lunch. I chose to listen to the three of them yammer on about their lives while I thought about my girlfriend returning from France expecting to hear stories of my trip home. When we all stood to walk toward the dress shop, which was right down the street, Quinn grabbed my arm and pulled me to walk with her behind Rachel and Tina.

"Santana, we have to at least talk about this." She let go of my arm and we started to walk a few feet behind them.

"We already did and I told you what I wanted, Quinn."

"Why are you mad at me? I'm responsible for my part, Santana, but we both wanted it last night."

I stopped walking and looked ahead at Tina and Rachel who hadn't noticed. Quinn stopped and stood in front of me.

"I am mad at you, Quinn. I'm fucking mad at the world right now because I am not this person anymore. I'm not the girl who fucks around because she can and I'm not the girl who hurts her girlfriend and that's what you've made me. You've made me that girl again and I don't want to be her. You made me remember what it was like to have you…" My voice had gotten louder and I looked ahead to the two girls who had yet to notice their counterparts were missing in action.

"Santana, I'm sorry. What else do you want me to say? I told you I was sorry last night and you said it wasn't my fault and now you're pissed. I don't know what to do, but I just got you back and I don't want to lose you again. I get that you're with someone and I don't want to mess that up for you, but I at least want my friend back." I could feel her eyes on me as I stared vacantly across the street.

"Why couldn't you come back a year ago, Q?" I walked off without waiting for an answer because I knew she understood what I was saying.

She followed slowly behind and we made our way into the store.

"Where were you guys? Tina's already trying on her dress." Rachel looked up from a rack of white dresses to greet us. "Santana, do you think you'll wear white at your wedding to Olivia?"

I sat on the small sofa in front of the dressing room. Quinn stood by Rachel and pretended to search for dresses.

"Berry, just shut the hell up about my non-existent wedding, okay? I'm not in the fucking mood." I rolled my head back against the sofa and felt my mind spin to the point where I considered vomiting just to try to get it to stop.

"Fine. Fine. I don't understand what the problem is though. You were talking about it last month at dinner. Olivia even brought up kids and you didn't run out of the house. You even bought a-"

"Guys… what do you think?" Tina walked out of the dressing room and stood on the six-inch pedestal in a flowing white strapless number that really worked on her.

"It's beautiful, Tina." Quinn walked toward her and starting looking more closely at the lace patterned around the bodice.

"You look great," I added because I've never been the girl that's really cared about weddings or wedding dresses. She did look great, but I really didn't want to be here.

"Quinn, what do you want your dress to look like?" Rachel asked her as she knelt down to help Tina try on shoes to go with her dress.

"Oh, I don't know. I haven't really thought about it." Quinn walked away back toward the dress rack.

"Really? I find that hard to believe," Rachel returned.

"I guess it will be different if I ever actually get engaged, but it's not really a thing to worry about now."

I leaned up in my seat.

"You're such a liar, Q."

She looked at me and for maybe the first time today, I actually looked her in the eye.

"What?" She questioned me.

"I remember you telling me all about your wedding day once." I knew I was calling her out, but I didn't care.

"That was a million years ago, San and I was drunk. I don't even remember everything I said. Besides, a lot has changed in my life since then."

I stood and walked over to her slowly.

"So, you're saying everything you told me you wanted you no longer want?"

I stood next to her and played with one of the hangers with my fingers.

"I'm saying that was a million years ago."

She just walked back over toward Tina.

"What did you want, Quinn?" Rachel asked as she stood to look at the shoes she had chosen while Tina turned to check herself out in the mirror.

"Yeah Quinn, tell her what you wanted…" I egged her on.

Santana's POV:

_About 6 Years Ago:_

_The party or really the gathering had finally ended. Quinn's mom had left to go to her hotel despite Quinn telling her she could stay at the apartment. Quinn had been different since she came out of her room earlier. I'm not sure what her call was about, but as she downed her third shot, she seemed like she was fine now and I figured she'd tell me if it was important._

"_Come on, San. Drink up! We're celebrating here," she encouraged as she poured another round for herself and pointed to my still full shot glass on the table. We were sitting on the couch with the music still playing in the background and the trash from the party still spread around the apartment._

"_Woman, you are drunk." I laughed at her and she downed her drink. _

"_So, I just graduated from Yale. Drink with me."_

_I took the shot glass and poured the tequila down my throat only slightly wincing at the taste._

"_There. Happy?"_

"_No, you've got to catch the hell up." She poured me another shot and we took the next round together._

"_You're such a lightweight, Fabray."_

_She leaned back against the couch and I slid the glasses back and lifted her feet so she could set them on the table. I did the same._

"_What do you want, San?" She looked over at me._

"_What?" I laughed. She always got all deep when she drank to much._

"_What do you want… in your life?" She leaned over and rested her head on my shoulder. She also always got tired when she drank._

"_I don't know. Do I have to decide that tonight?"  
"No, but you're 22. Don't you think it's time you start thinking about things like that?"_

"_Why don't you tell me what you want? Maybe it'll give me some ideas."_

"_I see what you did there." She caught me trying to cheat my way out of her question. "But I will answer you anyway. I want a successful career, which I'm working on right now. I want the marriage and the kids, but I think you know all that already."_

"_Slow down there, Quinn. Greedy much?" I joked with her as I moved so I could put my arm around her and make myself more comfortable, but also because I really just wanted to put my arm around her._

"_How does that make me greedy?"  
"You just want everything."_

"_You should want everything too," she told me._

"_I don't think that's gonna happen for me," I admitted. I failed to tell her that it probably won't happen to me because she's the one I'd want those things with and that's not going to happen so I'm in that 'drown my misery in other girls' phase of my life. _

_She lifted her head and looked up at me._

"_Why not?"_

"_I don't know. I haven't graduated from school. I don't know that I'm really the marrying type and even if I am, as you always like to point out, I'm a huge pain in the ass. Who am I going to get to marry me?" Even though I wasn't exactly truthful with my feelings about her, I was always my most honest with Quinn because she knew me the best. I'd never say anything like what I'd just said to anyone else... ever._

_She looked at me with her semi-glazed over eyes, which just made her look even cuter to me._

"_I'd marry you."_

_I pulled my arm from around her and put it back in my lap while I laughed at her. She says stuff like that periodically and I laugh it off, but it physically hurts when it happens. Earlier, when I was running late and I asked why I put up with her, she said it was because I loved her and while she thought it was just a random comment about our close friendship, I thought about how true it actually was and how much I wanted to just lean in, kiss her, and tell her how I feel. I didn't though because I am a coward._

"_You're drunk."_

"_So, I have to be drunk to marry you?" She winked at me._

"_Please, I'd have to be drunk to marry you. You'd be lucky to marry me." I smiled as I poured myself another shot and downed it quickly._

"_I know." She said it seriously and when I leaned back, her arm was over the back of the couch and I set my head back on top of it. God, this feels good._

"_Fine. Tell me what our hypothetical wedding would look like and I'll let you know if I'd even show up." I looked over at her._

"_Well, I don't think either one of us can wear white."_

_I laughed so loud it was basically a cackle._

"_Yeah, that is very true. We've both basically been de-virginized twice." I loved that I got to at least take care of one of those de-virginizinations for her. _

"_And I want to be comfortable so I'm thinking maybe we'd do it on the beach or something so we can be barefoot and wear short dresses."_

_My head went to her shoulder._

"_You should wear one of those sundresses you're so known for." She poked me in the side. "What? I'm serious. You look hot in those things, Q."_

"_Then, why do you always make fun of me when I wear them?"  
"Because that's what I do. If I'm not making fun of you, then you should worry," I professed._

"_Whatever. I'll wear a sundress if you wear one of those tight ones you're known for."_

"_Obviously," I replied sarcastically. "Who's performing this ceremony?"  
"Why don't we have Brittany get ordained? That would be the most interesting wedding in the history of weddings."_

_I sat up and pushed her backwards so she was lying down. Her t-shirt rode up a little and it took everything in me not to push it up further, but I don't just want another drunk hook-up with this girl. _

"_Why not just let Lord Tubbington marry us, Quinn?" _

_Her legs were in my lap and I put my arms over them._

"_You're right. That would be the most interesting wedding. What's the first song we're going to dance too?"_

"_Baby Got Back. Of course, that's mostly about me." I explained._

"_We're coming back to that one." She laughed._

_My phone buzzed on the table. I leaned over her legs to pick it up off the table and saw it was a message from Gillian._

"_Maybe we won't have too. Maybe Gillian and I will get married instead." I joked._

_She stopped laughing._

"_What did she say?" She asked me._

"_She's excited about our date and wants to know when I'm getting home because she can't wait to kiss me. Damn right she can't wait." I typed a message back that I thought we should start the date with the kiss. You can tell a lot about a person by the way they kiss. For example, Quinn was an amazing kisser. Well, she was amazing at a lot of things and kissing was just one of them._

"_You're really excited about this, huh?" She sat up and removed her legs from my lap._

"_Yeah, she's fucking hot." That was true, but just tell her, Lopez. Tell her how you feel already. Tell her Gillian is just a distraction._

"_You think you'll propose on the first date?" She smiled and sat back on the couch._

"_God no. I said she was hot and I like her, but I don't want a fucking fiancé. I don't even really want a girlfriend. I'm still enjoying this being hot and young thing. Gotta take advantage of it while we can, right?" I should probably just tell her that she's the only one these days that makes me want a relationship. _

"_Yeah, I guess." She stood and stretched. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed."_

"_Hey Q?" I looked up at her._

"_Yeah?"_

"_I had fun creating a fake wedding with you."_

"_Yeah, me too. Fake marrying you was fun." She walked into the bedroom and I went back to texting Gillian wishing I had no reason too, but I at least had something to look forward too when I got back home. Maybe sex with Gillian would take my mind off the one I can't have at least for a little while._


	11. Chapter 11

It's going to get worse before it gets better. Sorry about that.

Quinn's POV:

Rachel and Tina had driven together. Santana and I walked them to their car and then Santana crossed the street quickly without saying goodbye. My car was straight ahead, but I couldn't let her just run off without talking to her one more time. I walked after her and caught up to her as she turned the corner to get to her car.

"Santana fucking Lopez, stop fucking walking away from me!" I shouted after her and quickened my pace so she couldn't get in her car and drive off.

"Quinn fucking Fabray, leave me the fuck alone!" She shouted back and there was a pang in my chest.

"Damn in, Santana. Don't be that girl. Don't be the one who just runs away instead of having an adult conversation."

She turned quickly to face me and I wasn't expecting it. We were less than a foot apart.

"I had this conversation with you already. I'm not doing it again."

"What are you more angry about? Me leaving or me coming back?"

"Fuck you." She turned, but I pulled her arm and turned her back around.

"Answer me, Santana."

"Both. I'm angry about both. You know that. I told you already. Why are you asking me this now? Just let me go home so you can go back to London and we can forget this happened."

She turned around again and clicked the button on her key chain. I heard her doors unlock. I tried to speak, but my mouth was dry and I couldn't seem to get the words out. She opened her door, got in and drove off without looking at me again.

"I left because of you." I said to myself as I watched her car drive off and leave me standing there feeling like I'd lost her again.

Quinn's POV:

_About 6 Years Ago:_

_When I hung up from Mr. Winston, I was in shock. I couldn't believe I had gotten the job and that I had less than a week to make the move. The guy who had the position had promised them he'd stay on to train his replacement, but he changed his mind and was now only sticking around for the next two weeks. _

_I heard Santana's voice come from behind the door. She was showing someone to the bathroom. Oh God, I can't take this job. I can't just move to another country. I'm 22. I've lived on my own, sure, but my mom was only a few hours away and still gave me an allowance since my part-time job didn't exactly cover my rent. If I turn down this opportunity, I know I'd be making a mistake, but the thought of being so far away from everything I know is petrifying. I sat on the edge of the bed to try to gather myself. It didn't work._

_If I don't take the job, I have to go back to Lima. I can't keep this apartment because I've already canceled my lease and they've already found a new tenant. Apartments near campus go fast. I could move in with Santana, but I can't live with her because I want to date her and I can't date her and live with her right away. It would be too fast. Plus, she's got this Gillian girl I've got to compete with. A few minutes ago, I had no job and I wanted to date my best friend and now I have a job and I can't date my best friend if I take it._

"_I had fun creating a fake wedding with you." I told her._

"_Yeah, me too. Fake marrying you was fun." She joked while staring down at her phone texting the girl she would soon be kissing._

_I walked into my bathroom and stared into the mirror. She doesn't want a relationship and I am not the person who can casually date anyone, but especially her. She may never want a real relationship. She broke up with her only girlfriend other than Brittany because she lived a train ride away. _

_I got ready for bed and slid beneath my blanket trying to sleep off the alcohol and my thoughts. I overheard Santana talking on the phone in the living room._

"_Yeah, what are you going to do then?" She asked the person I assumed was Gillian. "God, that's hot." She paused and I squeezed my eyes shut wishing I had closed the door behind me so as to block the sound. "I can't. My friend Quinn's in the other room." Pause. "Wait. What are you wearing right now?" She's having fucking phone sex in my living room. "What are you going to do me when you see me for the first time?" Pause. "On top of the bar? Hell, yeah."_

_I cannot be hearing this. I cannot be around her and not be with her. I cannot be around her if she's with someone else and I definitely cannot be around her if she's talking to someone else like that. My stomach churned and I was sure it wasn't because of the alcohol. I clutched the pillow over my ear to at least attempt to blur the sound of her voice. _

_A few minutes later, I heard her giggle and say goodbye. She came into the bedroom, walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. I did what I could to dry my tears and roll over so she would think I was asleep. She climbed into bed next to me and I gripped the blanket tightly with my fingers._

"_Q, are you awake?" I heard her ask me and I could tell she had rolled over to face me. I didn't answer. I just tried to keep my breathing even so she would take the hint. "I'm proud of you, Quinn Fabray. You're amazing and I can't wait to see what you do with your life."_

_She leaned over and kissed my temple before returning to her position. I silently pushed the breath I was holding out of my body and with that, I had made my decision. London or bust._


	12. Chapter 12

Here's the next one. Thanks for your continued support. I'll try to have another one posted later today.

Santana's POV:

I arrived at my ridiculously expensive apartment that I loved because it was mine. Also, I loved it because it was better than the Berry-Hudson shack. Their place was nice, but despite her winning all those awards and making movies, I was still the richest of my former classmates by my estimation and my place was sick.

I opened the door and couldn't be happier that after the longest weekend ever, I'd be sleeping in my own bed and…

"Hey baby!" Olivia greeted me as soon as I opened the door. Her arms were around me before I could even realize what was happening and I hugged her back. Her hair smelled like my lavender shampoo and it was still somewhat wet. I pushed her long, brown hair back so I could rest my head on her neck.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her. "You weren't supposed to be back yet."

I pulled back to look at her. Her mother was American, but her father was Cuban. She had the best combination of their features.

"I took an earlier flight. I wanted to surprise you."

She leaned in and kissed me. I focused all my energy on kissing her back while trying not to think about the girl I was kissing a couple of nights ago. I pulled back for a moment and put my arms around her waist.

"Mission accomplished." She took me by the hand and started walking me back toward the bedroom. "Where are you taking me, Oli?" I asked with questioning eyes.

"It's been two weeks. Where do you think I'm taking you, Santana?"

I let go of her hand.

"I'm exhausted. I think I just need to take a nap."

She turned to face me and look disappointed.

"What's wrong, San?" She reached for my waist, but I pulled back. It wasn't that I didn't want too. I did want too. She's amazing and beautiful and I'm lucky to have her, but I couldn't have sex with her right now.

"Nothing. I told you. I'm fucking exhausted. It was a long weekend and my flight sucked. I just need to sleep for like a day."

I leaned in to kiss her gently and walked past her into the bedroom leaving my bags by the door. I flopped down onto the bed and wrapped myself with my one-million thread count blanket. She sat on the edge of the bed next to me.

"San, I understand that you're tired, but I was in France for two weeks and you went home for a reunion. I'd kind of like to talk to you. Maybe catch up now that we're in the same time zone. We sort of put some things on the table before left."

"You want to talk about that now?"

I rolled over on my stomach and turned my head to face her. She moved to straddle me and put her hands on my back, which she then massaged.

"Yes, I want to talk about that now. We said we'd talk about it when I got back and I'm back. My lease is up in a couple of weeks."

"I know that."

"And you own this place so it just makes sense for me to move in here."

"I know that too, Oli."

She leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"So, am I moving in, San?"

I thought about how I felt before I went to that fucking reunion. Oli and I started talking about her moving in at about month 9, but the commitment phobe living in my body kept pushing it off and then about a month ago, we talked about it again and decided to just wait until she got back from her trip.

"Fine. Move in." I closed my eyes and her hands stopped moving. "What happened to my massage?"

"Fine? Move in?" She jumped off me and stood at the edge of the bed. I rolled over and sat up. "Jesus baby, what the hell? Do you even want me here right now?"

"Of course I want you here. I'm sorry. I'm just being stupid right now. Come here." I put my arms out for her to slide into, but she didn't.

"I'm just going to go. You clearly need some sleep and I know I need some sleep since I came straight here from the airport after the longest flight of my life because I couldn't wait to see you and hear about your reunion because I felt bad about not being able to be there for you." She started to walk out of the room and it was only then that I noticed her bags sitting by the dresser.

"Fuck. I'm sorry, baby. I'm such an ass. Please, come here. You know how stupid I am sometimes. Don't go."

"You're not ready, are you?"

I wasn't sure what she meant.

"Ready for what?"

"For me to move in. You're not ready, are you?"

"I told you I was. I'm just tired."

"No, you're not and it's okay." She paused and sat down in front of me. I opened my legs so she could fit between them and her back rested against my front as my arms wrapped around her waist. I kissed her neck. "I only brought it up when I did because of my lease. I'll just tell my landlord I'm staying and sign another one. We can talk about this when you're ready."

I kissed her neck again and moved my hand under her shirt.

"I told you I am ready. Don't sign that lease. We'll get a fucking moving company tomorrow to move you in. You already practically live here."

My hand moved further north and my tongue wrapped itself around her earlobe.

"I thought you were exhausted."

She turned to face me and I leaned in to kiss her deeply.

"Suddenly, I'm less exhausted."

"Yeah?" She asked me with lifted eyebrows.

"Yeah." I kissed her.

"Thank fucking God." She rolled over on top of me and as I stared into her eyes, I wondered what they would like if they were hazel instead of brown.

I pushed that thought out of my mind and kissed her deeply pushing my tongue into her mouth before flipping us over and sitting back so I could peel off my shirt. Her mouth met my stomach and I had a flash of Quinn's mouth there. I closed my eyes and pushed that thought away too. I laid her back down and kissed her forehead.

"I missed you," I told her. I did miss her. Before seeing Quinn again, everything was so simple. My feelings were clear. I was going to move in with Oli and we were going to get married one day and everything was laid out. Seeing Quinn standing there in front of that gym looking like a more grown up version of the girl I once knew changed all that and I needed to find a way to change it back. Sex was usually good at taking my mind off things, but it wasn't working this time. I pulled back and straddled her. I found my shirt behind me and started to put it back on.

"What are you doing?" She asked as her hands went to unzip my jeans.

"I can't right now." I hopped off her and walked to the bathroom closing the door behind me. I slid down with my back against the door and covered my face with my hands.

I heard movement in the bedroom and then a knock at the door.

"Baby, what's wrong? What happened?" Don't tell her. Just say you don't feel well. You'd only hurt her if you tell her and that's the last thing you want to do. "And don't say you're tired. I know that's not it. You've never turned down sex before." I heard her body slide against the other side of the door and my heart shattered into a million pieces because of what I was about to do.

"Oli, I messed up." I choked back tears. "I really fucked up."

Silence.

"Who was it?" She asked softly.

"How did you know?"

"Because no one acts like it's this bad unless it is that bad. Who was it, Santana?"

"Someone I haven't seen in years and I am so sorry, baby. I didn't mean for it to happen and I am horrible and I can't believe I even did that and it won't happen again with her or with anyone…" I trailed off as the tears fell and I didn't hear anything on the other side of the door until I heard it open and I had to catch myself to keep from falling. I turned around to see that she was standing up, looking down at me huddled on the freezing cold tile floor.

"You shouldn't have told me." Her eyes told me she was sadder than angry and I hated myself for putting that feeling there. "I have to go."

I pushed myself off the floor and wiped my eyes while I followed her as she walked with pace toward her bags, which she picked up. I tried to pull them from her hand, but she was forceful in her grip.

"I'm so sorry, baby. What can I do? I'm not this person. I'm not…"

"I can't look at you right now, Santana. I just can't."

She walked out of the bedroom toward the front door. I followed.

"Can you please just tell me what to do? I don't know what do too." I asked her while letting out an audible sob.

She stopped by the door and set her bags down. I thought for a moment she would stay, but she only gripped the handle and turned the knob to open the door and picked her bags up off the floor.

"I need time to think about what I'm going to do." She didn't turn to face me. "I can't be thinking about what you need to do too, Santana. I love you and I want to be with you even though you slept with someone else and I'm mad at myself for not just ending this now because I know I should, but I can't because you mean too much to me. So, I'm leaving and please don't call me or come by my place or the restaurant for a while. Just let me think."

She walked out and pulled the door closed behind her.

I should have listened to Quinn.


	13. Chapter 13

Remember, how I told you it gets worse before it gets better…

I promise this story will have a happy ending, but they've got to work through their issues first though or else it wouldn't be very realistic.

Quinn's POV:

I made sure my mom was healthy enough before hopping a flight back to London so I could get back to work and to my life. It had been a week since I'd last seen Santana and I already missed her. It's strange how you can be going through your life thinking things are good and then you see someone you used to feel intense feelings for and within moments, your entire life seems like some kind of play that's waiting for its third act.

My place in the city was nice, but seemed small much like the school did the other night and as I tossed my multitude of bags all around my living room because I was too lazy to unpack, I heard my phone ring in my purse. I walked over to the barstool in the kitchen that I used as my purse holder and pulled it out. I thought it was my mom calling to see if I had landed safely, but as I looked at the screen, I saw Santana Lopez flash across it.

Pound. Pound. Pound. My heart could have ripped through my chest and I clicked to answer and put it to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked instead of greeted.

"Hey." I heard her reply sounding defeated and exhausted.

I looked at my clock. It was 9am here, which meant it was 4am there.

"Are you okay?" I needed to know that more than anything given the time and her tone.

"No. I should have listened to you."

"You told her, didn't you?" I sat in the stool and clutched the phone to my ear leaning over with my elbow on my knee and my palm to my forehead.

"She won't talk to me. It's been like a week and I wasn't supposed to call her, but I did and she didn't answer. I went by her place, but she wouldn't answer the door. I think I've lost her."

"I'm sorry, Santana." I didn't know what else to offer her. I was sorry for her. I was sorry I had caused this problem for her. She had someone she loved and because of me, she may lose her. "What can I do?"

"Nothing. I just needed to talk to someone about this and I can't really talk to anyone else. If I tell Rachel, she'd know about you and I don't want to do that too you. Plus, she'd just remind me about what a fuck up I am sometimes and how awesome my girlfriend is and then lecture me about being a better person. I can't take that. I'd tell Kurt, but it would be pretty much the same thing. All my other friends are also Oli's friends and if she hasn't told them already, she will and then they will all hate me."

"They won't hate you, Santana. They'll be angry with you and yeah, they'll probably yell at you, but they won't hate you. You made a mistake." I lifted my head and looked across the room at the old pictures I had framed on the wall. One was a collage from high school and one was from college. They both had multiple pictures of Santana and I in them.

"They should hate me. I hate me. I kind of hate you too." That hurt. "You know what I mean, right?"

"I guess." I looked at the photo my mom had taken of the two of us on my graduation day.

"You broke my heart, Q." I could hear that she was about to cry.

I wasn't expecting that.

"What?"

"That night in London. For the next two years while you were at Yale. You broke my fucking heart over and over again."

"San, I don't… Did you want-"

"Of course I did. I was just too fucking scared to say anything because you didn't and you made that clear. So, I moved on and had to be okay with it and then you were gone and I lost my best friend too."

"I didn't know, Santana." I stood up and started pacing. "If I would have known…"

"You would have run off sooner." She answered for me.

"I would have told you I felt the same way. It took me longer to realize it, but I would have told you I wanted you. You didn't want a relationship."

I heard only breathing on the other end of the line.

"I wanted one with you." She took a deep breath. "God Quinn, we could have actually had something? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was going too. What did you think I meant when I said I could marry you, San?" I was getting louder and more frustrated with every syllable. "I was going to ask you out, but you were so excited about that hot Gillian girl and then you said you didn't want a relationship."

"Quinn, you fucking know me. You know I don't just tell people I want things. I don't just put feelings out there like that."

"Yeah well, at least you didn't have to hear the girl you love basically have phone sex in the other room while you cried your eyes out into a pillow. I got the job offer that day, San. I wasn't going to go until I heard you talking to her about whatever she was going to do to you on top of a bar."

"You just said you loved me."

"I did love you. I wanted you. I wanted everything with you, but I couldn't have it and it hurt too much not to have you so I left and it was hard for a while, but it got easier and then I got to a point where I thought I could be happy without you in my life and then my mom talked me into going to that fucking reunion and now I'm hurt all over again because I let you back in and you have someone you love and I thought I could talk to you and be friends again, but I can't." I had made my way into the living room and was lying on the couch using my thumbs to wipe tears off my cheeks. "San, I'm sorry I messed things up for you, but you messed things up for me too."

"I didn't know. If I would've known, Quinn…"

"It doesn't do either of us any good to think about what might have been. I'm here. You're there. You have Olivia. Work things out with her, Santana. Tell her it didn't mean anything. Tell her it will never happen again and that you'll never see me again if that's what it takes."

"I can't tell her it didn't mean anything. It's all over my face that it did and I don't want to lie, Q."

I considered how to respond to her point.

"Tell her it was closure. Tell her it was something you did in response to something that happened years ago and that I ran away before you could get closure on it before."

"Is that what it was, Quinn? Closure?"

I caught another tear before it rolled toward my chin.

"I think that's what it has to be, San."

I clicked the phone off and rolled on my side curling my body into itself.

Quinn's POV:

_About 5 ½ Years Ago:_

_I'd been living in London for about 6 months now and despite missing my mom, my friends, and especially Santana, things were going well. I liked my job even though I was at the bottom of the totem pole and I liked my boss. He seemed to think I had a knack for this stuff and figured I'd be promoted with my own team soon. I'd gotten used to the food again and it was nice to be able to walk just about everywhere from my apartment or flat as they call them here. I'm still getting used to the language even though I do actually speak English._

_I sat in the coffee shop I frequented most Saturday mornings and got some work done on my laptop. I looked up toward the door and noticed someone familiar._

"_Brittany?" _

"_Quinn?" _

_She had walked in with a group of about four and as they walked toward the counter, she made a beeline for me and I stood to hug her._

"_Oh my God, what are you doing here?" I asked her as I let go._

"_I'm dancing. I'm on tour. We're just grabbing coffee before we head to the airport. We're going to Germany. What are you doing here?"_

_We both sat down at the small table and I closed my laptop._

"_I live her. I got a job here after Yale."_

"_You know everyone back home is freaking out. No one knows where you are."_

_I lowered my head._

"_That's sort of by design, Brit. I needed to let go of some things and move on and doing it this way made that easier."_

"_Santana's worried about you."_

"_She is?" I half-smiled._

"_Yeah, you just left without saying anything and she can't get a hold of you. She thought she did something wrong until I told her you weren't talking to me and Rachel said the same thing."_

"_She didn't do anything wrong. This was just something I needed to do."_

"_Well, I'm going to at least text her and tell her you're okay."_

_She pulled out her phone and I put my hand over it._

"_Please don't, Brit. I need some time to sort through things. If she knows I'm here…"_

"_Quinn, what happened with you guys?" She asked as one of the guys she came in with set her iced coffee down in front of her and motioned to his watch._

"_Nothing happened."_

"_Really? Cause I kind of thought you two were together."_

_I was taken aback by that comment._

"_What?"_

"_Yeah, like since Mr. Schue's wedding. You were all over each other that night and then San told me later what happened and I was like 'Of course it did. That makes sense.' Then, you started spending more time together and then I didn't hear anything from either of you for a while cause I was busy at school explaining to them how numbers work. I thought MIT was a school of geniuses, but they needed a lot of help and I needed a lot of crayons."_

_I laughed lightly._

"_We were just friends. I'm surprised she told you about the wedding." I remembered what else she said. "Wait. What did you mean that it made sense?"_

"_You two were always on each other. It just seemed like maybe you just needed to share some sweet lady kisses to work it out." She looked at the group who was now over by the door. "Sorry, I've got to go. Our flight leaves soon." She stood._

"_Oh, okay. Brit, please don't tell anyone you saw me. My mom knows I'm okay. I just need to figure out some stuff and I need some time to myself to do that. I promise I'll talk to San soon though. I really need you to trust that I need to do things my way."_

"_You know how everyone thinks I'm dumb?"_

"_I don't think you're dumb, Brittany."_

"_I know. You and San are really the only ones who always told me how smart I am. That's one of the reasons we were the Unholy Trinity." I laughed at the memory of that name. It seemed like so long ago that people actually called us that. "My point is that I know there's more to this story than you're telling me and I've talked to Santana a lot since you left, but I know there's more than she's telling me and you both just need to talk to each other."_

_I smiled at Brittany putting us in our place._

"_I'll talk to her when I can. I promise, Brit."_

_We exchanged goodbyes and I watched as she followed the group of dancers out of the building and into a waiting SUV. _

_I can't talk to Santana yet. I'm not ready. _


	14. Chapter 14

To answer a question from a review: Santana and Quinn had sex in Chapter 7 in the restaurant. That's the cheating everyone's talking about and you'll see in the flashback in this chapter where that comes from. To respond to a comment from a review: Yes, this story is very flashback heavy and it will continue to be that way until the very end.

Santana's POV:

Quinn loved me. She said it in past tense, which shouldn't upset me, but it does. Somehow, despite the fact that this was all just too much to handle, knowing she loved me back has made it even harder. We could have had something. Who knows? We may have tried and failed and ruined our friendship anyway and I may have still ended up with Oli, but at least if that would have happened I would have known. Now, I'm just left heartbroken over what might have been and with the guilt of harming the girl who loves me now.

Obviously Quinn and I still have feelings for each other. I'm dumb, but I'm not that dumb. I could hear her crying on the phone before she hung up on me, but she was right. This needed to be closure. After all this time and with so much going unsaid back then, we needed a chance to get things out. Now, we're both free to get back to our lives and even though we may regret our past decisions, they were necessary. If Oli ever talks to me again though, I'm going to leave out that last part.

That call with Quinn needed to be my last if I was going to make this work, but staring down at her listing in my contacts, I just couldn't bring myself to delete her number. After all, I had only just gotten it after 6 years of missing her.

Santana's POV:

_The Night of the Reunion:_

"_So Q, if we're doing this dinner thing tomorrow night, I think I need your number. You know, so I can call you in case I'm running late or in case I have to cancel." I sipped through the tiny stir straw of the Malibu and pineapple she had chosen for me on her most recent trip to the bar. I was trying not to make it look all seductive, but I could tell by a glare she gave me that I was not succeeding._

"_I think you just want my number so you can send me dirty messages, Lopez." She toyed with the straw in her own drink that she hadn't touched yet. I finished the last of mine and set down the glass. I pulled my straw out and stuck it in her glass as I leaned forward. I took a sip of her drink through my straw. It kind of felt like she was looking down my dress or maybe I'm just imagining it now that I know she's into boobs now. I knew I was shamelessly flirting with her and that I shouldn't be, but I was tipsy. I can't help that I'm a flirty drunk._

"_That too." We were sitting at one of the tables by the dance floor and I thought about asking her to dance with me, but even in my current state, I knew that was a bad idea. We'd start out dancing separately, but I'm also handsy when I drink and especially when I drink and dance. I'd end up putting my arms around her waist and she'd end up turning around so that her back was against my front and the thought of my lips so close to her neck started making me consider switching to water for the rest of the night. God, I'd start on her neck and then work my way over to her shoulder and I'd pull that strap on her dress down so I'd have more skin to work my tongue over. My hips would push forward and she'd move back as we both circled together and her arms would go around my neck as I continued to assault her body with my lips. I'd suck her earlobe into my mouth because I still remember how she liked that last time. _

_She'd turn around because she wouldn't be able to take it anymore, which would be fine by me because I would need to get the hell off the dance floor so I could tear her clothes off her body, which I would do once she pulled me by the hand into the girl's locker room we used to frequent. _

_Finally, with no one around she'd just fucking let go, which I know her uppity little ass needs to do, but she never allows herself to do. She'd attack my mouth and I would let her while I focused my attention on the zipper and getting her naked as quickly as fucking possible. She'd push me against the lockers, which would hurt for a second before I'd remember what she was doing to the rest of my body so I wouldn't care. I'd yank that dress off her and slide my own zipper down to remove mine as I made my way down her body to her stomach, which I would cover with my hands and then my lips. I'd hear her moan and I would get even hotter than I thought possible until she'd pull me by the hair back up to kiss her again. _

_My hand wouldn't be able to get her thong off fast enough so I'd just shove it inside and use the other one to tear at the material. She'd complain for a second before she's feel my fingers move around her clit and her arms would stretch out to the lockers to brace herself. I wouldn't be able to tease her long because I was already close to gone myself just by doing this to her. My other hand would go to her right wrist and I'd pull it down so it would force her closer to me so I could kiss her and let my tongue twist with hers and hear her moan when it happened. I'd take her wrist and begin to move it down until she understood and shook my hand free and moved her hand to where I wanted it. _

_She'd say something about someone catching us at the same time I'd scream "Fuck!" and then I'd say something like "Who fucking cares? I've wanted this for so long." Then, I'd feel her go inside and it would get even fucking better. I'd push my fingers inside her and curl them immediately while I tried to focus on the feeling she was giving me. I'd hear her whisper something in my ear about how hot I had made her all night and I'd say something about how I knew she wanted me like this since she first saw me and I'd kiss her again and push my fingers further inside her and move my hips so we could both feel the benefit. Not wanting to be the one against the lockers, I'd turn us and slam her back against them so I could get better leverage and thrust harder while I continued to kiss every part of her I could reach. _

_Then, I'd realize I could live out every part of my girl's locker room fantasy and do it with Quinn fucking Fabray so I'd pull out and remove her fingers from my body with my hand just long enough for her to freak out at the loss of contact and turn around to turn on the shower in the stall behind us. I'd pull her by the hand not wanting to wait until the water turned hot because we were both already hot enough. She'd smirk at me and would willingly follow me under the river of water as it turned from freezing to burning hot with just the right amount of sexy steam filling up the stall. I'd push her back against the wall and I'd lift her leg to my hip like I'd fantasized about doing since London and put my fingers back where they were. Hell, back where they fucking belong. _

_I'd want her back inside me too, but that would have to wait because this part would feel too fucking good and with just the right hip movement, I was already almost there anyway. She'd say something about this being the best fucking sex of her life and I'd say "You're fucking right it is." She'd kiss me and I'd kiss her back reveling in the way that it feels to finally be doing this with her again. I'd want more though so before she could come, I'd move down her body taking pieces of her into my mouth as I did and I'd end up right where she needed me and I would do everything I could possibly do to her with my tongue and with my fingers buried inside her to make her scream my name before I'd move back up and give her clit one last flick with my thumb. _

_She'd twitch and smile and I'd kiss her again until she'd remember that it was my turn and she'd…_

"_Santana?" Quinn waved her hand in front of my face and I was back to reality._

"_Sorry."_

"_Now, who's the lightweight?" She laughed. "I'll give you my number and I promise I'll be a better friend from now on, but no calling at 2am begging me to bail you out of jail or anything." _

"_No worries Q. I have a gi-" I should have finished the sentence I was going to offer, which was explaining that I have a girlfriend for that, but something told me not too. "I have a good feeling you'd come anyway if I needed bailing out."_

_She smiled._

"_Yeah, yeah. Good old, boring, dependable Quinn Fabray." She mocked herself._

_She left out gorgeous and I left out the fact that I had just had a very vivid fantasy of fucking someone who is not my girlfriend. _


	15. Chapter 15

Quinn's POV:

It had been a week since my call with Santana and I had dealt with a lot of crap at work because I had been gone so long and things just piled up and because the people I work with are just getting on my nerves for some reason. I felt like drinking, which I rarely did these days so I ended up at a local place down the street from my apartment so I could walk home if I drank too much. I sat at the bar drowning my sorrows when a perfect distraction approached and sat down on the stool next to me.

"I haven't seen you in here before." She had medium blonde hair that was curled neatly at the ends. Her eyes were blue and she looked right at me.

"I've never been here."

"You're an American?" She took a drink of her beer.

"Guilty."

"Carrie." She put out her hand for me to shake. I did.

"Quinn."

I finished my drink and pushed it away.

"I'll get you another one," she offered and held up her hand for the bartender who walked over and started making me another drink.

An hour later, Carrie had practically told me her entire life's story. I only heard about half of it. I'd had 3 more drinks and a couple of shots on top of that. I wasn't sure what the protocol was here since she had offered to buy me the first one, but I had kept on ordering them anyway. She was hot and I was looking for something quick and easy.

"Do you want to get out of here?" I asked her. I had never been this bold in my life and definitely not with a girl, but I needed something or someone to help wipe Santana out of my brain.

"Are you sure? You don't really seem the type to…"

She was right. I'm not the type.

"I've had a long couple of weeks… months really."

"And you're looking for someone to take your mind of things."

"You interested?"

I was not very good at this whole attempting a one night stand thing, but her eyes got big so I figured I was on the right track. She picked up the tab and we walked back to my place where I opened the door and she walked in behind me. I didn't really know what to do so I just walked to my kitchen and opened the refrigerator and stared into it waiting for it to tell me what to do with this strange girl in my apartment.

"You've never done this before, have you?" She asked me. She leaned on the kitchen counter.

"That obvious, huh?" I closed the door and looked over at her.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No, but I don't really know how to do this either."

"Is this your first time with a woman?"

I laughed.

"No, it's not. I don't really want anything to come out of this though and that's new to me. I don't really go to bars and end up taking strangers home."

"You really don't want to do this and I don't only want to do this."

"What does that mean?" I asked her while I crossed my arms. I was still pretty buzzed so it felt like she was speaking to me in riddles.

"I didn't approach you just to do this. I don't usually do this either. I wanted to talk and maybe ask you for coffee tomorrow."

I thought about how nice it would be just to have coffee with someone.

"Can we just have the coffee?"

"Absolutely."

"I mean just coffee."

"Oh." She looked a little disappointed. "I suppose I could do that if that's what you want."

"It's what I need. I not sure I can really do anything else right now. I thought I could, but I think that was the alcohol thinking for me."

"All right, how about I go home and you go to bed and you call me?" She took a pen off the counter and wrote something on the notepad I had sitting there. "This is my number. You call me when you want to go for coffee and if you want, you can tell me all about it."

"Okay and I'm sorry about all this."

"It's fine."

She backed out of the kitchen and walked out the front door. So, not only could I not have sex with Santana because she has a girlfriend, but apparently I can't have sex with anyone because I'm still in love with her.

A couple of days later, I finally called Carrie for that coffee figuring I at least owed her that and I thought it would be nice to talk to someone else about whatever the hell I'm feeling these days.

She was already there when I arrived. I sat down at the table and pulled my phone out of my purse as I heard it vibrate.

"Do you need to get that?"

"No, its just work. It can go to voicemail. Sorry. Hi." I apologized and then remembered to say hello. I set my phone down.

"I didn't know what you wanted so I just ordered you a coffee."

"You didn't have to do that. I think I already owe you money for buying me all those drinks."

"You can buy my drinks next time."

"Deal." I took a sip of my coffee, which had cooled enough for me to drink without burning my tongue.

"I'm glad you called."

"I'm sorry it took me so long. Work has been crazy lately. There's this guy below me who wants my job and I was away for a while so he's been using that against me."

"That's not the whole story though, is it?" She took a drink of her tea.

"No, that's not the whole story."

Quinn's POV:

_February 15__th__, About 9 years ago:_

"_I can't talk about this with you right now, San. It's weird." I was lying at the head of the bed while she was at the foot. We were still naked from our activities last night and while she was only half way covered up, I had the sheets pulled up to cover myself as I sat up against the headboard. It was about 10 in the morning and even after everything I had done with her, I felt shy with her seeing my body now._

"_Why is it weird, Q? I'm just asking you to tell me if you liked it." She smirked that Santana Lopez smirk and reached beneath the sheet and started dragging her fingers up and down my calf._

"_You know I did. I'm pretty sure everyone in this hotel knows I did." _

"_That's true. You were louder than I thought you'd be, little miss straight girl." Her fingers moved to my knee and she had to move a little closer to continue that movement._

"_So, you've thought about this often?"_

"_You naked? Hell, yeah. I'm thinking about it now."_

_I laughed at her._

"_And?"_

_She sat up and moved her hand to my thigh while lifting up the sheet and moving her other hand to join it on my other thigh and moved both of them slowly over my skin making me shudder a little from the contact._

"_And what?"_

"_And does the reality even come close to the fantasy?"_

_She stopped her hands momentarily and looked at me._

"_There is no comparison, Quinn."_

_I wasn't sure what she meant by that. It could have meant that the reality was nothing compared to her fantasy or it could have meant the opposite, but then I felt her lift the sheet higher and I lost her eyes because her head was moving under it. She had a hold of my hips and God what she was doing to me felt so good._

"_San…" My hand went to the back of her head over the sheet._

"_Hmmm?" She questioned without stopping her tongue's movements._

"_This can't leave this room." _

_She stopped at that and lifted her head._

"_I already told you I get it, Quinn. Do you want me to stop what I'm doing right now or can we do this one more time before check out so you can go back to Yale with at least some of that fucking stress you carry around all the damn time taken care of?"_

"_I just…"_

"_I get it, okay?"_

"_Okay."_

"_So, can I…" She motioned with her head._

_I smiled._

"_If you want too, I won't stop you."_

"_I want too and you just did so shut the hell up already. Check out's at 11." Her head went back under the sheet and mine rolled back against the headboard._

_An hour later, we were dressed, packed, and standing in an elevator headed down to the lobby of the hotel. I was going back to Yale on a 3pm flight and she was headed back to New York the following day. We stared at the elevator door in silence until we hit the 4__th__ floor and then I realized we were only 3 floors, one lobby, and one parking lot away from saying goodbye._

"_San?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_You did a really good job at helping me relieve stress earlier." _

_She looked at me with squinted eyes and I returned her stare. We both laughed. The elevator dropped us at the lobby and we checked out. When we got to my car, she just stood there and stared at me. I popped the trunk and she lifted my bag._

"_Look at you being all chivalrous. Do you always act like this the morning after a hook-up?"_

"_No, just for you, Lucy Q."_

"_Well, thanks."_

_We stood for a moment just staring at each other again until she opened her arms and I shook my head and walked into them._

"_I'm going to miss you, Q."_

"_I'll miss you too."_

"_I think we should visit each other more. No more of this slapping and arguing bullshit. Let's just admit that we're supposed to in each other's lives and say fuck it."_

_I laughed and pulled away._

"_How about I visit the loft in a couple of weeks and we can hang out and not slap each other and try to not argue for 48 hours straight."_

"_I don't think you do anything straight anymore."_

"_And that would be a perfect example of what not to say to me in order to avoid an argument."_

_She winked at me._

"_I know. That's why I had to get it out now while I could."_

"_Well, you do like things out, don't you?"_

_She laughed._

"_Have a safe flight, Fabray."_

_She walked with her bag over to her car._

"_You too, Lopez."_

_I was supposed to come to town to watch my old teacher get married. That didn't happen. What did happen though was seriously better. I had two experiences I definitely wasn't expecting. I had sex with a girl… a few times and I might actually end up having Santana Lopez back in my life minus at least some of our past drama. Things were starting to look up for me. _


	16. Chapter 16

Santana's POV:

I got sick of wondering whether or not I still had a girlfriend so I decided to stop by the restaurant where my maybe girlfriend was working. Technically, I'm her boss, but I'm really just an investor and part owner. She actually runs the place as the manager and has been attending culinary school in her limited spare time because she wants to be a pastry chef. That's why the restaurant, well me really, sent her to France for a couple of weeks.

I walked in before we opened and proceeded with caution toward the back of the kitchen where her office resides. The door was opened so I walked in. She wasn't there so I left the flowers I had brought with me on her desk and saw the picture of the two of us from our trip to Chicago to scout possible new location spots still in the same place. That's a good sign, right?

"San?" She walked up behind me while I was staring at the picture. I turned around at her voice.

"Hi." God, I'm great with words.

"What are you doing here?"  
"I kind of own the place." I replied sarcastically to attempt to break the tension.

"Santana, come on." So, clearly that worked. "I've got work to do."

The office was small so when she tried to walk past me, her arm brushed up against mine and I took that opportunity to put my hand just below her elbow. She stopped at the touch.

"I know I have no right to ask you to talk to me, but I'm living in limbo here, Oli. I want to talk to you and I'm trying to respect your space, but I need to know if you're still my girlfriend or if…"

"If what? If you can fly back to Lima and find your fuck buddy?" She moved past me and sat in her chair.

"That's not what I was going to say and you know it." I leaned on her desk and faced the wall with my arms crossed in front of me.

"I want to say that it's over, San. I want to be able to tell you that you cheated and we can't be together anymore, but it's not like that. I'm angry and I'm fucking sad and I want to punch you most of the time and I want to kiss you some of the time and the rest of the time I just want to fuck you, which I know is pretty messed up, but it's like I need to make you mine again."

"I made a huge mistake and I won't ever be able to apologize enough for it and I'm not trying to make an excuse for what I did because there is no fucking excuse for it, but it's like I needed closure on something that happened a long time ago that I never got to deal with and I wasn't expecting her to be there and there she was and it happened and I'm horrible for doing that to you and I am so sorry, but I am here and I won't ever see her again."

She leaned back in her chair and stared at me. I put my hands back against the desk gripping the edge with white knuckles waiting to see if Quinn's advice would work.

"Was it Quinn?" I had talked a lot about Quinn over the course of our relationship. I never lied to her about having feelings for Q and she knew that Quinn disappeared on me years ago and that it still hurt me that I lost my best friend.

"Yeah." I hung my head down against my chest. "I didn't know she was going to be there and I definitely didn't expect anything to happen between us. I always just figured she was married to a spoiled white rich guy named after one of those 80's movies villains. He'd still be rocking a popped-collar and would always wear pleated khaki pants. She'd be a soccer mom in a mini-van in her perfect white picket fenced off home in the suburbs. It was either that or she was in a mental institution. With Quinn, it could go either way depending on the day of the week."

She sat forward and brushed her finger over my hand. I looked over at her immediately with wide eyes.

"So, she's not a soccer mom?"

"No, she's not. She lives in London now and she's been with other girls and there was just something about her saying that to me that made me think-"

"About the possibility." She finished my thought and I moved my hand so that my fingers were intertwined with hers and I played with them while staring down at them.

"Yes. It was wrong and I know that. I knew it then too. I wish I could say that I was wasted out of my head, but I wasn't and she wasn't either. It just happened."

She stood up and moved to face me. She used her other hand to lift my chin so I could look at her.

"This is not me forgiving you."

"Okay?"

"This is me telling you that I understand what happened."

"You do?"

"Yes, we've all had the straight best friend crush. For pretty much all of us nothing comes of it except maybe some kissing practice sessions."

"Yeah, I guess."

"I am still pissed."

"I know."

"Did you get it out of your system? Did you get your closure?"

I thought about how to answer her and I knew taking any time to pause and contemplate was a bad idea so I just answered.

"Yes. She's back home where she belongs and I'm here."

"Okay."

I gave her my confused face.

"Okay what, Oli?"

"Okay. I'm still your girlfriend."

I smiled at her.

"At the risk of fucking this up again, are you sure?"

"Yeah, I love you and I need time before I can forgive you all the way, but if you're telling me this was a one-time thing that will never happen again, then I want to get us back. I've missed you."

"I missed you too, Oli."

I leaned in and kissed her wasting no time with putting my hands around her waist and pulling her in before sitting back on the desk so I could spread my legs and she could fit between them. She pulled away for a moment.

"I can't move in though."

"Oh."

"Not yet. I need time to…"

"It's okay. I understand. We'll just talk about it when you're ready then."

"Maybe that will give you more time to actually be ready and not just tell me you're ready." She smiled at me and rested her forehead on mine.

"I _am_ ready. I told you that."

"Santana, I have one drawer at your place and a separate shelf in the refrigerator for my food. You actually had a contractor separate your closet into two so some of my stuff could fit, but then you just put your stuff there and gave me part of a shelf. Come on. You finally just gave me a key like 4 months ago."

"Yeah, yeah."

"I'm just saying that I know we've talked about this stuff and that you want it some time in the future, but I don't want you to feel like your timeline has to always match my timeline."

"Okay. In that case, I am not ready. I want you there. I do. It's just hard for me for some reason."

"I knew you were commitment phobic when we started dating. I can wait."

"How long do I have to let you insult me because of the stupid shit I pulled?" I kissed her lips lightly.

"Oh, at least a few months." She smiled and kissed me again.

Santana's POV:

_About 7 Years Ago:_

"_Why the hell did I agree to help you move, Fabray?" I asked her while carrying a heavy box of her dishes into her new apartment._

"_Because despite what you want people to think, you're actually a good person." She motioned for me to set the box down on her recently purchased kitchen table. She was removing pans from another box and I needed a break so I sat down at the table and watched her work as she stood on her tip-toes to reach the top shelf of a cabinet._

"_Well, I guess it's worth it for the view." She turned and I motioned with my finger up and down her body that had just been fully stretched._

"_Perv."_

"_This perv's ready for a meal. Cook me something woman!" I jokingly ordered._

_She walked to her old school refrigerator and opened the door to reveal nothing inside._

"_What exactly am I supposed to be cooking? I've lived here all of 2 hours, Santana. I haven't exactly gone grocery shopping yet." She closed the door and went back to what she was doing._

"_I'll order us a pizza then, lazy." I made the call and ordered our usual and returned to the kitchen to help her unpack. We worked side by side and my arm brushed up against hers. Stop it, Santana. You cannot have feelings for this girl. One time thing. One time thing. I'd been reciting that refrain in my head pretty much since that night. I remembered what it felt like to tell Brittany about how I wanted to be with her only to tell me she wanted to be with Wheels McGlasses instead and even though we did end up together later, it was ridiculously painful to go through that with my best friend. Now, Quinn's that person to me and I cannot lose her._

"_San, can you help me in the bedroom?" She started walking an unpacked box of her clothes in the direction of her new bedroom._

"_I think you already know the answer to that," I joked._

"_I meant with my clothes, you ass!" I don't think she thought that one through._

"_So did I." She just laughed and I followed her into the room where we removed sundress after sundress from a box and I hung them on hangers. I sat on the bed and passed them to her one by one so she could hang them up. "Hey Q?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_It's weird, huh?"_

"_What's weird?"_

"_You're going to be a senior, you've got your own apartment away from that creepy Craigslist roommate who always made your bed for you. You're growing up. It's just all weird."_

"_We're the same age, San. I think you're kind of right there with me."_

"_Yeah, I guess. It's just we're like talking about grocery shopping and unpacking boxes and decorating things and we went to a farmer's market the last time I visited. A farmer's market, Q. You'll be in a relationship soon and then you'll be moving in together and getting married and having little adorable Quinn look alike children." Don't call her adorable._

"_Whoa! How did we get from age 21 and grocery shopping to me married with children?"_

"_It's all happening. Think about it. It was only like 3 years ago that we were two hot cheerleaders ruling our Podunk high school and now we're like making decisions about what to do with our lives and those decisions actually matter." I handed her yet another dress. She took it from me, but instead of hanging it up she just sat down next to me on the bed._

"_I guess it is weird when you actually stop to think about it like that. You're so busy planning for the future, you kind of forget when you're in it." She paused. "So, if I'm married with kids, what are you doing with your life?"_

"_God, I don't know. I mean school's alright for now and I guess I'm not that far behind so that's no big, but after that I have no idea."_

"_What about the whole relationship, moving in together, marriage, and kids thing?"_

"_I guess. It's all a little too much to think about for now though. I lived with Rachel and Kurt and wanted to stab them most of the time. Thank God I found the crap place I have now. I've only ever lived with my parents and those two losers. Not the best indication of what living with someone is really like."_

"_I basically lived with you last summer. You're not that bad. You could pick a towel up off the floor ever so often though."_

_I laughed a little as she moved to hang up the dress. _

"_Hey, if you wanted me to stop, you shouldn't have picked them up for me." I put another dress on yet another hanger and sat it in my lap. "Too bad you don't just live in New York. You're probably the only person I can actually stand enough to live with." I did love living with Q last summer while she stayed with me in New York before returning to school for her junior year. She spent this past summer in Lima with her mom since it would be her last before joining the real world. I visited Lima a couple of times and got to see her along with my family, but it wasn't the same thing as having her in the same apartment all the time. In my defense, she did have to pick up the towels for me, but she was always leaving coffee cups all over the place and I cleaned them for her and even though I grumbled about it to her, I really didn't mind doing it. I liked doing little things for her. Every so often, I'd put these little ideas out there to her just to see her react. I can't exactly just say I want to live with you, but I can see if the idea of living with me is something she'd ever even consider. God, why can't this girl just be into girls? _

_I think about that Valentine's Day all the time and wonder what another one would be like and at this point, I'm so desperate to be with her that I'd even let her just tell me it's another one-time thing if it meant I got another chance to touch her like that and hold her after, but that wouldn't be enough for me and she'd wake up and we'd just go back to being friends. Having her as a friend is the most important thing in my life right now. I have gotten so used to her being around, being there for me to talk too, or yell at as I do sometimes that I don't know what I'd do without her. That's why I can't tell her that I'm in love with her. That's why I'll just have to silently tell myself that it won't ever happen and that I need to get the fuck over it by continuing to get over and under someone else if that's what it takes to forget about what it was like to be with her._

"_What if after I'm done with school, I look for jobs in New York and if I find one, you and I just live together?" She proposed._

"_Until you get all married and preggers?" I made fun because it was all I could do._

"_Whatever. Forget it." She took the dress from my lap and turned to hang it up._

"_I'm just kidding, Q. I'd like that. If you find a job in my city, we'll be roomies."_

_She turned to look at me. Those beautiful eyes met mine and I thought about maybe retracting this whole living together thing because I don't know if I could look into those eyes everyday and not be with her._

"_You'd be okay with that? Us living together? Us finding an apartment we both actually like, signing a lease that would keep us tied to the place for like a year, buying furniture and decorating the place together…" _

"_Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" I'd love that. I'd love doing all of those things with her. I'd even consider taking on all the pain of being just a roommate and friend if it meant I got to do those things with her. How is it that I seriously keep going back and forth on this so easily? I can live with her. I can't live with her. I feel like I'm pulling fucking petals off a flower sometimes just waiting to see what the last one tells me to do._

"_I don't know. It just seems like you wouldn't want to do that much work."_

_I wanted to say it wouldn't be work if I was doing it with her, but I couldn't say that without her smart ass reading into it and then I'd have to tell her how I felt and then she'd try to be nice about the whole lesbian best friend love thing._

"_It would be nice having you around, Quinn. You know, like in the next room instead of like 2 states away."_

"_Okay. Do I have to explain geography to you? Connecticut is next to New York, Santana. You literally drove here."_

_See? Smart ass._


	17. Chapter 17

Here's the next chapter. Hope you still like it and thanks for all the reviews. They just encourage me to post more. Tomorrow, I'm traveling for work so I'll try to post, but it probably only be one chapter instead of the 3-4 I've been doing.

Quinn's POV:

Carrie and I had been hanging out for a couple of weeks and I'd filled her in on Santana and she understood that I wasn't really ready for anything. She said she was content for the moment with us just hanging out and I was too, but when we went to dinner the other night, there was a wait so we had a drink at the bar and the bartender was clearly flirting with her and it made me slightly jealous. I haven't been jealous in a long time. Well, I was recently jealous when Santana told me about Olivia, but before that, I can't remember a time when I was jealous. Well, I guess there was Santana and Gillian and Santana and that girl from Jersey. I can't remember her name. Fuck. I can't keep getting jealous of the girls she's with. It's not going to happen and this is seriously unhealthy.

"Hey, can I ask you something entirely ridiculous and you can feel free to say no?"

"I like ridiculous," she replied after taking a piece from my scone. We'd been coming to the coffee shop at least a couple of times a week since we met.

"There's this wedding back home. A friend of mine from high school. It's in about a month. Anyway, she invited me when I was there and I told her I wasn't sure I could go, but I was able to schedule it with the office and I don't really want to go alone."

"You want me to go to a wedding with you? Like as your date?"

"I'd like you to go with me. I don't really know what our status will be in a month."

"You're right. That is ridiculous." She laughed at me and I laughed at the fact that she was right.

"I would like us to maybe go out sometime." I admitted.

"You're very non-committal, aren't you?" She took a drink.

"It's not that."

"I thought you weren't ready to do the whole dating thing."

"I may not be to be completely honest, but I didn't really like the way that bartender was flirting with you the other night at dinner and I realized I had no right to be jealous."

"But if we're dating, you could be?" She smiled. "And if we were dating, I could perhaps hold your hand."

"That's all you want to do… hold my hand?"

She laughed and stole another piece of the scone I wasn't eating.

"If you could hear my thoughts right now…" She trailed off. "Let's just say if you could, you would know I want to do a lot more than hold hands."

"Then, let's go out." I pushed my plate so that it was in front of her and leaned in over the table. "I may even let you kiss me on the first date."

She leaned in and pushed the plate off to the side. She rested her hands in a clasped position on top of the table.

"Don't make promises you don't intend to keep."

I took my index finger and dragged it over her wrist up to her elbow.

"I only make promises I know I'll keep." I dragged my finger back down and used my hand to unclasp hers so I could put my palm in her palm and run my fingers over it.

"We're not done talking about this date we're having, but can we get back to this wedding you want to take me too?"

"Like I said, you can say no and if we do go out and you realize I'm a crazy person, this may not even be a thing we need to discuss."

"It's not if we're going out, we are going out. I'd take you out tonight if I didn't have to work." Carrie worked at an art gallery. She was in charge of putting together all the shows. She had a degree in art history and she just went back to get her Master's degree. "I just want to know what I'm in for at this wedding. Will she be there?"

"She meaning Santana?"

"Obviously." I went to let go of her hand and lean back, but she pulled her fingers in so she could clasp my hand in hers instead.

"I don't know. I could ask Tina. I know she's invited, but I don't know if she's going. The wedding is in Ohio and San's in New York. She's busy with work. I don't know."

"Do you want her to be there?"

I knew this was a test, but I also knew I should be honest with her.

"Yes… and no."

"I figured."

"Is that okay?"

"It's not how I'd really like to start things off with you, but I understand you not wanting to go alone since she'll probably be with her girlfriend if they're still together. Oh, there's a question."

I smiled at her face in that moment of realization.

"What?"

"Never mind." She pulled her hand away from mine and leaned back.

"No, now you have to ask me."

"I don't want too. I don't think I want the answer."

"Please."

"What if she's not with her girlfriend? What if they broke up and Santana says she wants to be with you?"

"And you're there too so you're wondering if I would just leave you in Ohio and run off with her?"

"Honestly, I considered that, but I really just didn't want to ask because I thought bringing it up might get your hopes up which would also mean that I just got my hopes up."

She was right about that. Just hearing her talk about San and Olivia breaking up and Santana telling me she wanted me instead made me consider what that might be like and I can't consider that. Even if they aren't together anymore, I can't just be with her. I'm here. She's there. There are too many things in the way… too many complications. If we were meant to be, we would have made it work by now.

Quinn's POV:

_About 7 Years Ago:_

"_I think I've got to break up with her, Q." Santana told me on the phone while I walked to class in the middle of New Haven winter._

"_Didn't you just start dating, San?" I shuffled my bag on my shoulder while trying to balance my phone in one hand and my coffee in the other._

"_We were dating for about a month. Now, were together."_

"_You've only known her for like a month."_

"_I know. We became a couple on Tuesday night at dinner. She asked me to just be her girlfriend and I said yes."_

"_It's Thursday. You've been with her for two days and you want to end it already?" _

"_Yes, you know I'm fickle. Why is this so surprising to you?"_

"_I don't know. It's hard to keep track of your crazy sometimes, San. I thought you really liked this girl."_

"_She's alright. Better than Jersey girl, but I don't see it happening. I think I'm going to tell her tonight."_

"_I think you just don't want a relationship period. You keep starting things and you don't finish them. Sometimes I just want to squeeze you and say 'pick one.'" _

_She laughed and I thought about what I had just said and how I wanted to be the one that she picked. God, Santana, just pick me and we can be happy and I won't have to keep getting these kinds of phone calls._

"_Maybe I will. Maybe I'll pick one, but it won't be her."_

_Just tell her, Quinn. Just tell her you want it to be you. Just get it over with already. Get it out there so she can tell you it won't happen because you mean to much to her as a friend or she doesn't see you like that. One moment, my brain tells me she may actually return my feelings and we'll be happy and the next I'm thinking about how she'll try to let me down easy. I just can't seem to figure this thing out. _

"_Fine. Break up with her then. I guess you'll introduce me to the next one the next time I visit. I swear every time I'm there, there's a new girl in your life."_

"_Please, you know you're the only one in my life that actually matters, blondie."_

_She can't say things like that to me. It hurts too much._

"_Look, I've got class in 5 minutes. I've got to go. Good luck with your break-up. I kind of hope she slaps you though."_

_She laughed._

"_You would." She paused. "Hey, Q. When are you coming for that visit? I have some towels I need you to pick up for me."_

"_Goodbye, Santana."_

"_Bye, Q."_


	18. Chapter 18

About the flashbacks: I'm trying to show how they ended up here. You will see more of the present though too. If you aren't a fan of the looks back, this may not be the fic for you, but I wanted to show what caused them to separate so you'd know how/why things are the way they are in the present, which then helps them move into the future.

And yes, you will get your couple moments this time since so many of you wanted those in my other story.

Santana's POV:

I'd been to a lot of weddings recently. It seemed like everyone I knew was getting married these days. I guess I'm just at that age where that happens. I'm waiting for more and more kids to keep popping out any day now. But no matter how many weddings I go to, I always think of the first one I went to as an adult and how it so completely changed my life.

Olivia and I had gotten back into our normal routine. Sort of. We'd gotten back to a version of it. It had been a while since our conversation and I'd been out of town for a week in LA for work. So, we'd really only had a few quality dates in that time and she'd insisted on staying at her place instead of mine. We've kissed of course, but every time I make a move to go further, she pulls back and says she's not ready.

I understand. I do. As much as I love sex, I can wait for her to want to be with me after what I did. It hurts though. It hurts when I try to slide her shirt up so I can just feel her and she pushes it back down. It hurts when I kiss her neck and move my hands under her shirt so I can try to take her bra off and she pulls my arms back to her hips or puts them around her neck. I can't say anything though because I'm the one who got us into this mess. Before the reunion, I never had a problem with her wanting me to do those things. She kissed me like she meant it every single time and now it just feels like she's phoning it in half the time. It's my fault. I just have to give her time. When she's ready, we'll get back to where we were.

"Oli, you ready?"

"Maybe I shouldn't go."

We were standing in her living room. I had her suitcase handle in my hand and was trying to rush her down to the waiting car.

"What? Baby, the car is outside. Our flight is in like 2 hours. We need to go."

She stood in front of her couch and leaned back on it.

"Are you sure she won't be there?"

"I'm sure. I told you. She's not even invited."

"How do you know?" I watched as she pulled her jet black hair back into a ponytail, which she always did before we flew somewhere. At least, that's a sign she is going. She just wants to argue about this again first apparently.

"Because the invites went out like four months ago. Tina and Mike didn't even know she was alive then. Baby, can we please go? If we miss this flight, the next one isn't until tomorrow. Flights to Lima aren't exactly offered every hour and if we miss this one, we'd miss the rehearsal dinner and I don't want to show up at this wedding tomorrow jet lagged with people asking me what the hell happened."

"Do you want her to be there?" It's in moments like these where I see that two girls with fiery Latina blood don't always mix well. When her Cuban side comes out, it takes everything in me sometimes to not just yell in Spanish and slam doors. I could see in those deep brown eyes that she showed up to this conversation already pissed off and ready for a fight. This was the fourth conversation or really argument we'd had this week about Quinn and I was growing tired of it.

"Seriously Oli, I'm not doing this again. I told you she's not going to be there and that I don't want to see her. I just want to get on the damn plane in my first class seat, put on my blindfold and sleep for a couple hours. Can we please just do this already?"

"You really know how to make a girl feel secure, you know that San?" She retorted sarcastically as she walked toward me and took her bag. She walked out the open door toward the elevator.

"It's going to be a long weekend."

Santana's POV:

_About 7 Years Ago:_

"_Quinn, you told me to pick one. So, I'm picking one. I'm picking you. I want us to be together."_

"_Oh Santana, that's adorable," Kurt replied._

_We were sitting on the couch in the apartment he shared with Blaine. Kurt was the only one I trusted with my feelings for Quinn. I thought about telling Rachel, but she's closer to Quinn than Kurt is and she's a talker especially when she's drunk and tonight we were celebrating her pre-engagement to Finn. Yeah, you heard that right. The couple that got engaged in high school and then broke up is now pre-engaged. Rachel said she wasn't ready for the actual engagement thing with everything she has going on with her show, but she wanted to take the next step. She read in a magazine about promise rings. I tried to tell her that those were usually for girls saving themselves for marriage and we both knew that was a big old lie, but she said she wanted to do it. They'd been living together for about 6 months and personally I think she just wanted to have something else be about her._

"_It sounds lame, Hummel."_

"_Quinn likes lame. You tell me that all the time."_

"_No, I tell you that Quinn is lame and she is."_

"_So, you're the one who likes lame or really loooovvveees lame." He stretched out the love word because he's a drama queen. _

"_Hummel, I'm trying to figure out how to tell Quinn that I want her to be my girlfriend or at least go on a date with me and see how it goes and I'm already pretty fucking sure she's going to freak the fuck out so I need some calming influences right now."_

"_And you came to me because I just scream 'calm' to you?" He mocked himself, which I appreciated because it meant I didn't have to do it for the moment._

"_Who else can I go too?"_

"_When is she getting in?"_

_I looked at the clock hanging over the TV. It felt like the second hand was ticking away on my life. Like at any moment, the most amazing thing could happen and Quinn could say yes or the opposite could happen and she could turn me down._

"_Any minute."_

"_And when and where are you going to spring this little adorable love confession on her?"  
"I thought about doing it at the party, but if she turns me down, it will be in public and I can't take that. So, I guess at my place after the party."_

"_Are you going to decorate to make it all romantic? You should get candles. I have a bunch here if you want to take them."_

_I squinted my eyes at him._

"_Of course you do, and I think that might give something away if she just walks in and there's a fucking banner on the wall that says 'I love you, Q. Date me.' I do want it to be special though."_

"_I realize this will sound strange coming from me, but sometimes low-key is special enough."_

_Quinn had arrived on schedule and we all left from Kurt's place since the party was only a couple of blocks away and I lived a couple of subways away. My apartment was nearer to the train station though and she had a key so she dropped her stuff there first and then met us so we could all walk together. I made Kurt walk between us because I was so nervous I thought I might accidentally take her hand or blurt something out. He kept looking back and forth between us as we walked and I shoved him once to get him to wipe the smile off his face._

"_Hate crime!" He announced loudly and several onlookers took notice._

_Quinn laughed._

"_Yeah Hummel, it's a gay on gay hate crime. You can't just yell that in the middle of the street. You'll get my ass arrested." I criticized._

"_Why did you push him, Santana?" Quinn asked him._

"_Because I felt like it." That was only a half-lie. _

_We got to Rachel and Finn's a little late and a crowd had already formed around Rachel who was showing off her ridiculous ring that didn't really mean anything unless they just called it what it was and said they were engaged. Quinn pulled me over to the kitchen and grabbed us two drinks._

"_I notice there's no new girl here with you. What's up with that?" She asked and took a drink. _

_I played with the half torn off label on the beer bottle with my nervous fingers._

"_I've been busy. Haven't had time to find a replacement yet."_

"_I was looking forward to doing the best friend interview. 'You hurt her, I'll kill you.' You know that kind of stuff." She had deepened her voice to deliver her fake threat and I smiled at her adorableness. I can do this. I can be brave._

"_Hey Q, later when we get back to my place… can I talk to you about something?"_

_She looked at me with that intrigued stare of hers._

"_Yeah, but why can't you talk to me about it here?"_

"_Because I don't want this crowd of people who actually believe in a pre-engagement to hear. It's personal."_

"_Okay. Is everything alright though? I mean, with you is everything okay?"_

_I could tell she was slightly worried with my tone and delivery of the 'I need to talk to you about something personal' thing._

"_Everything's fine." Right now, everything is fine. Later tonight though, we'll see._

"_Hey San. Hey Quinn." The hobbit hobbited over from her fawning fans to join us in the kitchen. "Food's over on the table and everyone's just putting the gifts on the coffee table."_

"_Gifts?" I asked._

"_Yeah." _

"_I'm not getting you a gift for a pre-engagement, Berry. Technically, you've already done the engagement thing already and it didn't work out. So, if anything you owe me a gift for the first time."_

"_I didn't get you anything either, but in my defense, the last time you almost got married I ended up in a wheelchair so I'm with San on this one. I think you owe us." _

_I laughed hard at that one. Not at the wheelchair part, but at the fact that she even brought it up and so casually at that._

"_We'll take cash, checks or cards, Berry," I added and took a drink. I was settling down a little. The alcohol was helping, but even though I tend to get nervous around Quinn more and more these days, she still had a way of making me forget about it._

"_I don't know why I even invite you to things, Santana and you're a terrible influence on Quinn."_

"_I'm alright with it," Quinn declared and pulled me away from the elf queen over toward the fully occupied couch. I looked down at two guys sitting there and they made eye contact and quickly got it. "I see you still have that Lima Heights Adjacent stare."_

"_I like to stay true to my roots, Q."_

_Quinn sat in the middle and I sat on the end, which I immediately regretted when I saw the guy sitting on her other side turn to notice her. I get it. She's gorgeous, but why does everyone on the planet have to notice it and then talk to her when all I want is tell her I want to be the one to notice it and tell her all the time?_

"_Hi." _

_She turned to face him._

"_Hi."_

_She has no clue how beautiful she is and while I love that about her, it also drives me nuts. _

"_I'm Eric."_

"_Quinn."_

"_I'm Santana." I waved my hand so he would get distracted. At least if he hit on me, I could move this thing along and get rid of him._

"_Hi." He turned his attention back to Q. Normally, I'd wonder why my hotness wasn't doing it for him, but with Q, I get it. "So, how do you know Finn and Rachel?"_

"_High school? You?"_

"_I work with Finn."_

"_You fix cars?" I challenged._

"_My dad owns the shop. He owns a couple of them. I run them for him."_

"_Wow, that's a lot. How old are you?" Quinn asked him while I downed about half of my beer in one gulp._

"_25."_

"_Almost to 30, huh?" I retorted._

"_I guess." He replied to me and then returned his attention to her. "What about you?" This idiot is asking a girl her age. _

"_21. Almost 22. I figured I should round up while I still want too." _

_Oh come on, Quinn. Don't flirt back. You're fucking killing me right now._

"_I'm going to go get another beer. Q, you want?"_

"_No thanks, I'm good." _

_I stood and walked back to the kitchen. My thought was to get away from it because I couldn't stand to watch it, but I am a moron because Rachel's kitchen is an open one and I had a perfect view of her leaning in to talk to him and of his arm moving over the back of the couch. I even caught his perfect fucking teeth as he laughed at something she said. I kind of wanted to punch them out of his mouth, but then I looked at Q and saw that she was smiling too. She looked happy even if it was just for the moment._

"_We're going to go out tomorrow night if that's okay with you?" She said as we started back to my apartment minus Kurt because he knew of my plan._

"_Why do you have to run it by me?"_

"_Because I'm here to visit you. Well, there was the party, but really I'm here to visit you so I want to make sure it's okay if I go out with him tomorrow night. Would you have a problem with me going out with him?" She said that weird, but I had had a few drinks so I didn't feel like addressing it. I mostly just felt like punching Eric in the balls and then falling into a deep sleep and waking up to Quinn telling me she's stupid for going out with Eric the fucking mechanic when she could go out with me._

"_Do what you want, Quinn. I'm tired. I just want to go to bed."_

"_What's wrong with you?" She asked as she nudged me._

"_I just told you. I'm fucking tired. That party was pointless and I just want to go to bed."_

"_Okay… you had something you wanted to talk to me about though. We're alone now. What is it?"_

_I looked over at her and considered my options. I could tell her right now that I am madly in love with her and want to have a thousand of her babies or I can tell her nothing._

"_Nothing."_

_I went with nothing. _


	19. Chapter 19

Quinn's POV:

I called Tina a couple of times to see if Santana would be there, but she didn't answer. I got a text message from her when I landed in Ohio that said she didn't know for sure and she apologized for not getting back to me until now, since she'd been busy with the wedding preparations. San had sent in her RSVP +1 before the reunion, but that she had called her and told her she wasn't sure if she was going to make it and that she'd let her know. As of the day before the wedding, Tina still had no idea if Santana and Olivia would be there. That's perfect.

"Are you ready?" Carrie asked as she pulled her bag off the carousel. I leaned in and kissed her.

"Yeah, let's go. I want to get checked in and take a seriously long shower before we have to be at the rehearsal dinner. I feel like I smell like airport."

"Are you in this seriously long shower alone?"

"That depends entirely on you."

Carrie and I had been dating and I must admit that it's going pretty well so far. She knows I'm not entirely over Santana yet and she's been very understanding about the whole thing. She's also been pretty understanding about the fact that no one at this wedding knows I date girls and I'm not really into making Tina and Mike's wedding about my fluid sexuality or rather my intense leaning toward homosexuality these days nor do I want to spend the entire reception explaining things to people. So, to everyone there, Carrie is just a friend and not my sort of girlfriend. We haven't really labeled it yet, but neither of us is dating anyone else so I guess we could just call this what it is.

We got to the hotel and checked in. My phone rang in my purse and I pulled it out to see that it was work. I'd been gone all of 24 hours and they were already calling. This job that I used to love is getting seriously annoying.

"Hey, can you take our stuff up? I'm gonna take this down here and I'll meet you up there."

"Ok babe, make it quick. I was promised a shower." She kissed me and walked toward the elevators.

I answered the call and fixed someone else's problem and a few minutes later I was headed toward the elevators myself. I hit the button for the tenth floor and just as the door was about to close, I saw a hand stop its path and it recoiled to reveal Santana Lopez standing there and staring at me. Without a word, she entered the elevator and we stood next to each other staring toward the door that was closing us in. It dinged for the second floor.

"I didn't think you'd be here." She told me.

"I didn't think you'd be here." I repeated.

Fourth floor.

"I feel like we've done this before." She looked at me sideways.

I realized where we were.

"This is the same hotel."

"There aren't many hotels in Lima."

"Is this the same elevator?"

"There aren't that many elevators in this hotel." She turned to face me.

Sixth floor.

"Where's your girlfriend?" I asked genuinely.

"She's at the restaurant."

"Oh." I turned to her. "Wait. The restaurant we-"

"There aren't that many restaurants either. She's visiting with the manager. They're having a meeting. I just dropped her there and came here."

Eighth floor.

"What floor are you on? You didn't press a button."

"10."

"Oh." I paused. "I'm glad you two were able to work things out."

"We're still working things out." She didn't exactly sound optimistic.

Tenth floor.

The door opened and we walked out together. It felt weird being in this hallway. The wallpaper was the same, the carpets were the same, and it even smelled the same as it did that night and that morning after.

"Do we need to talk, Q?"

"I'm with someone, San."

She stopped walking and I stopped a few feet ahead of her.

"Good. I'm happy for you, Quinn. What's his name?"

"Her name is Carrie and she's here. She's in our room."

I turned back to check her reaction, but as I did she took my hand and took a step toward me.

"I guess _you_ ended up picking one, huh?"

Her hand felt like it always did when it met mine, like it belonged there. Quinn, get it together. There's a girl in your room waiting to shower with you.

"It's been like a month, San."

She let go of the hand that she had been staring at and looked up at me and smiled a fake Santana smile.

"I'll let you go get your girl, Q. I'll see you at the rehearsal dinner."

She walked the rest of the way down the hall and she looked back at me before entering her room.

I walked into mine and was greeted immediately by Carrie's mouth on mine.

"What the hell took you so long? I've had the shower running for ages." She kissed me again and I pulled back.

"Go on in."

"I thought the point of the shower was that you would be joining me." Her arms were attempting to lift my shirt, but I pushed it down.

"I just had a rough work call. I think I'd like to take a nap for a while and shower later."

Her hands went off my body and her eyes said she didn't entirely believe me, but she wasn't going to question it.

"Okay. If that's what you want, then I'll shower and you nap and I can wake you in time to get ready." She pecked my lips and went to the bathroom closing the door behind her.

I turned around to look at the door and I considered opening it to walk down the hall to find her. If I did it would probably take me ten minutes just to work up the courage to knock and when I would it would be just loud enough to be heard, but soft enough to also maybe be another sound entirely to her ear so she wouldn't be sure it was the door and she'd ignore it.

I put my hand on the doorknob and thought about what it would be like to turn it and what it would be like for her to open her door. She'd let me in without a word because she'd know I'd have nothing to say. I'd pull off my shirt and toss it aside and she'd follow me toward the bed. She'd pull her own shirt off and I'd undo my jeans. She'd stand right in front of me and her hands would slide up and down my stomach and my skin would tingle and my breath would stop. Her hands would drift to my jeans, which she would pull down for me and I'd step out of them with her eyes staring up at me. I'd sit on the edge of the bed and I'd unbutton and unzip her jeans and she'd pull them off and we'd slide back on the bed together with her on top of me.

"Are you sure?" She'd ask me because she's Santana and she'd want me to be sure, but she'd also be asking herself that question too.

I'd say yes because I would have to say yes. She'd lower her lips to mine to just lightly touch them while her hands would reach around me to encourage my back to arch so she could undo my bra. She'd pull it off me and I'd return the favor. She'd throw both of them onto the floor somewhere just like she did that night. She'd lean back down on top of me and ask me again if I was really sure because that's what she did that night and she'd need to double check before she'd take things further. I'd lift my head up to kiss her and move my hand around the back of her neck to pull her as close as I possibly could.

She'd start moving her hips down against me and I'd move both hands to the back of her underwear and I'd slide my hands down into them and I'd start to pull them off until she'd sit up and pull them down herself. She'd pull mine off too and toss them aside. She'd lower herself back on top of me slower this time and more deliberately move my legs apart so she could fit herself between them. God, it would feel so good to have her hands on my body and have her fingers move slowly at first and then pick up their pace as they circled my clit. She'd take her time because in the restaurant, we went fast. She'd push her fingers inside while she'd whisper something in my ear in that soft, sexy voice of hers. I'd bring her lips back to mine so I could kiss her again because even though everything she would do would feel amazing, I'd just love to kiss her again and again. I'd feel her hips start pushing faster and faster as her thumb would flick my clit back and forth and I'd ask her to do more because I'd want more, but because I'd know she'd want more too. That first time, she'd taken it easy on me and I knew now with my other experiences and knowing Santana that she really wanted more. I want more. She'd move down my body as her lips would gently press into my skin leaving a tingling sensation wherever they went and-

"Babe, can you get my shampoo? I left it in my bag." Carrie yelled from the shower and brought me out of my stupor. I moved my hand away from the door and walked over to her bag and grabbed her shampoo.

Santana's POV:

Fucking Quinn Fabray is here. She's staying in the same damn hotel and is down the fucking hall. I paced in my room. I was supposed to be unpacking our shit, but I needed to wrap my brain around the fact that Quinn was here. What the hell was I supposed to tell Oli? I told her Q wouldn't be here. She's going to lose her shit when she sees her at the dinner. She knows what Quinn looks like. I've got pictures of her everywhere and I've noticed Oli looking at them a lot lately with her Cuban dagger eyes.

I checked my watch. I had about an hour until Oli got back. I looked at the door. I walked toward it and held onto the doorknob.

"Fuck this. I can't be this damn stupid. She's got a fucking girlfriend in the room." I walked back toward the bed and quickly turned back around and practically sprinted toward the door. "Jesus. I am this damn stupid." I opened it and stood outside in the empty hallway as it slammed shut behind me. I turned to my right and walked toward her door. I guess my plan was to ask her to come back to my room to talk so we'd have privacy, but if we were alone in a hotel room together, I wouldn't be sure I could keep my hands to myself and I need to keep my hands to myself.

Good thing I caught the number of her room on that little envelope they give you with your key or else I wouldn't even know what room she was in. I stood in front of it and thought about what I might say, what I might do, what I wanted to do.

I love my girlfriend. I love my girlfriend. I love Quinn. Shit.


	20. Chapter 20

Quinn's POV:

Carrie and I arrived at the rehearsal dinner before Santana and Olivia, which I was grateful for because it gave me a chance to tell Carrie she'd be here. I'd been putting it off because I needed to delay the inevitable. We hugged and I introduced her as my friend from London. Everyone noticed her accent and made her say "British" words, which she did because she's a nice person. We walked her over to our assigned table and I looked down at the other place cards with names on them.

"Can I ask you why we're even here? I thought rehearsal dinners were for the family." Carrie said as I stared blankly at the card with Santana's name that sat next to mine.

"I don't know the rules on that. Tina just told me I was invited. I guess they invited everyone from the old glee club. They better not make me sing."

"I'd like to hear you sing. What are you staring at?" She asked.

"Nothing. Sorry."

"Hey." I heard her voice from behind me and I was immediately angry with myself for not telling Carrie earlier. I turned to face her while sitting. "I guess we're at this table." She pointed at the card. I looked to the girl standing next to her and then down at their joined hands. "Quinn, this is Olivia. Oli, this is Quinn."

By the look of Olivia's expression, Santana hadn't told her I was here either. I guess we were both delaying the inevitable.

"Hi Quinn," Olivia greeted me somewhat coldly and put out her hand for me to shake. I hesitated for a moment and looked at Santana. I shook her hand and looked over at Carrie who looked surprised.

"Oh, Santana and Olivia, this is Carrie."

Olivia seemed to perk up.

"Her girlfriend, but I'm only her girlfriend to you two because you know. To everyone else I'm just a friend." She didn't seem angry, but it was the first time I'd heard her call herself my girlfriend. "Why don't you two have a seat? Quinn and I were just going to go get something to drink from the bar. Do you want us to get you anything?"

"No, I think San and I have some talking to do before we drink tonight," Olivia noted.

I stood with Carrie and we walked toward the bar.

"So, she's here after all, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"How are you feeling about it?" She asked.

"I don't know."

"How are you feeling about me calling you my girlfriend just then?"

"I don't know."

She looked over to me and put her hand on my wrist to get me to stop walking and look at her.

"You're really madly in love with her, aren't you?"

"What? No."

"Quinn, please just be honest with me. This whole time I thought you were moving past this thing you have with her, but you went catatonic for a moment back there when you saw her name on the card and when I asked you what was happening, you lied to me and said nothing. I can read, Quinn. Then, she's behind us and you hear her voice and your eyes close like that's the voice you both love hearing and hate hearing at the same time."

"Carrie, it's not like that. I'm just surprised she's here. I didn't expect her to be here."

"I'm fine with playing the part of your girlfriend this weekend for those two, but I think after the wedding, we should just go back to being friends."

"Because I closed my fucking eyes? Come on, Care. It's not like that."

"Tell me you don't love her." She ordered softly. I gulped and took a breath. "You can't say it because it's not true. I like you and I like what we're doing here and I'd like it to continue, but I think you need time to deal with this stuff."

"Time hasn't worked so far. I've had plenty of fucking time, Carrie. I've had years. I moved across the planet to get away from her because it hurt being around her when she was bringing home girl after girl and I couldn't see that anymore. I couldn't be near her if she was with someone else. These feelings haven't gone away and that night we were together just brought them all rushing back and I can't do anything about them. Trust me, I've tried. So, you suggesting I need time isn't fucking helpful." I knew I was basically screaming at a girl I had no right to scream at, but I couldn't hold it in anymore. I turned around to walk away and noticed Olivia standing right behind me.

Santana's POV:

Moments Earlier:

"Oli, I'm so sorry I didn't know she'd be here. I swear." I sat down at the table and Oli sat next to me and stared at Quinn and Carrie as they walked to the bar. Earlier at the hotel, when I had realized I was about to make things worse by knocking on Quinn's door, I returned to my room instead and when Oli got there, I decided not to tell her. I knew she'd see Quinn at the dinner, but I thought that if we were in public when she found out Quinn was here, she'd be a little less likely to freak out on me.

"I cannot sit here all night with her, Santana. I can't sit next to the girl you fucked in a restaurant you own. The restaurant I had to walk into earlier for a meeting and had to sit in that room and wonder if the table I sitting at was the same one you fucked her on."

"Oli-"

"Don't Oli me right now. You said she wasn't invited. I came here because I thought this trip would help us. I'd meet the rest of your friends and they'd meet me and they'd like me hopefully and you'd realize you'd been stupid before and you'd say you want to move in after all and I'd finally be able to have sex with my fucking girlfriend without wondering if she's thinking about someone she went to high school with a hundred years ago or without picturing you with her while your hands are on me and I have to stare at those fucking pictures you have of her all over your apartment." Her voice was beginning to carry and I was hoping the music playing was loud enough to drown her out as I hung my head in shame because I had caused all of this.

"I'm sorry."

"You've been saying that a lot lately and it's my fault because I took you back and I knew how you felt about her."

"Olivia, come on-"

"Please don't right now. I just can't." She stood.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to the bathroom to either cry or scream. I don't know which one yet. I'll be back and I will be the dutiful girlfriend tonight, but I'm getting my own room because I can't share one with you right now and then tomorrow… well, I don't know yet. I don't know if I can sit at a wedding next to you with her there. I don't think I can be the bigger person here and I know I don't want to be."

"Olivia, stop." I stood and tried to take her hand, but she wouldn't let me.

"San, please just give me a minute to get myself together."

She walked off toward the bathroom.

Quinn's POV:

"Oh my God Olivia, I'm sorry." I stood next to my now ex-girlfriend and in front of Santana's current. Things had gotten so complicated.

"You know, you two have been hurting each other for years and that's fine, but you're hurting other people now too." She walked off.

Carrie grabbed our drinks and handed me mine.

"You should drink that and order another. I think you're going to need it."


	21. Chapter 21

Warning: This one's all flashback because I am evil and I like to make you wait, but also because this part is relevant to the story.

Quinn's POV:

_Summer about 8 years ago:_

_The door slammed shut behind her and I half-opened my eyes to at least see that she was standing, though hobbling toward her bedroom. _

"_Santana, it's like 3am." I observed while wiping the sleep from my eyes and sitting up on the couch that had been my bed for the past couple of weeks since I joined her in NYC for the summer._

"_I know what time it is, Fabray. The bar closed at 2 and it took me an hour to get home. See? Even drunk I'm still a genius." _

_She sat down almost on top of me before slouching down and resting her head against the back of the couch._

"_Are you going to do this every night for the next two months because I do need to get actual sleep some time this summer?"_

_I looked at her and poked her in the side to get her to look at me._

"_You could have gone out with me tonight. You didn't have to waste a Saturday night inside, loser."_

"_I'm tired of going out all the time. Ever since I got here, it's all you want to do. We go out, you find some girl to make out with or hook up with and we come back here."_

_She got excited for a second and turned toward me._

"_Oh, speaking of… that hot girl I met the other night, Sarah or Sandy or something was there tonight. She's a yoga instructor, Q. So, you know…"_

"_Well good luck with that, Santana. I didn't plan on spending my entire summer watching you pick-up girls or waiting for you to get home so I know you're okay."_

"_Well soooorrrry, Quinn. I'm just trying to enjoy my fucking life. What the hell are you doing that's so important you can't just be a normal 20 year old?"_

"_I'm buying books for my next semester, lining up a TA job for the fall and an internship for the spring. I'm thinking about my future, Santana."_

"_I like living in the now. Fuck the future."_

"_Yeah, that's a healthy attitude. What are you going to do when your future turns around and says 'fuck you' back?"_

"_Okay, I am too drunk to try to answer that. I'm going to sleep, Q. Do you want the bed tonight?" She stood and started walking toward her bedroom._

"_I'm good out here." _

_She turned around and stood in the doorframe._

"_Are you mad at me now?"_

"_It's your life, San. You can do what you want."_

"_That's not what I asked you, Quinn." She crossed her arms over her chest._

"_I'm not mad, Santana. I just… I didn't expect the summer to be like this. I thought we'd spend more time together that didn't involve going to clubs, getting wasted, and you picking up girls."_

_She uncrossed her arms and contemplated something before putting them at her sides._

"_What do you want to do?"_

_I rested my elbow on the back of the couch and rested my head on my hand._

"_I don't care. I just want to spend time with you."_

_She smiled._

"_Yeah?"_

"_Yeah, stupid. Why do you think I'm here for the entire summer? I've been to this city a hundred times by now and Rachel and Kurt are fine, but they're not you."_

"_Tomorrow night, let's just do something. You and me. Alone. Somewhere."_

_I smiled._

"_You're drunk. I don't think those words formed a complete sentence."_

_She walked behind the couch and used her hand to knock my elbow of the couch forcing my head to fall off my hand. She laughed and kneeled down behind the couch and set her arms on the back with her chin rested on top of them. I matched my eye level with hers._

"_Tomorrow night, you and I are going to dinner together and we will be alone. I will not get drunk or pick-up a girl and you will not worry about school or work or the future."_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Yeah. You try to be a little more in the moment and I'll try to think a little further ahead than one hour."_

"_Okay."_

_She stood and leaned down. She kissed the top of my head and I closed my eyes. I opened them to follow her as she walked into her room. She always offered me the bed. Every night she was actually here and not at some girl's apartment, she always offered it and I always said no. She said we could share and I always said I was fine on the couch. I couldn't share a bed with her while I felt this way. I couldn't share a bed with her knowing that the next day, she'd meet some new girl and they'd be making out within 5 minutes. It was hard enough just being on the couch and knowing she's in the next room. I thought coming here for the summer would be easier than going back to Lima, but I was wrong. _

Santana's POV:

_Summer About 8 Years Ago:_

_I walked into my bedroom after talking with Quinn and I felt like an absolute ass. Why can't I just tell her that the reason I'm hooking up with all these girls is because I can't stand the fact that I can't have the one I want? Why can't I just tell her that I want her to be jealous? I don't want a fucking lecture about getting my life together. I just want her to be at the club with me while some girl has her tongue in my mouth._

_I want her to pull me away from the random chick and tell me I can't do this anymore because she loves me and wants me and I'll tell her I want her and love her too. We'll leave the club together and I'll awkwardly take her hand on the subway because I'd need to be touching her._

_We'd end up in the apartment and I'd finally get her to share the damn bed with me, but I'd want to take things slow this time. I'd want her to understand that she is not just some drunken hook-up. She is the best thing about me these days and I'd want her to know that I'd wait if she told me she wasn't ready, but she'd say she was ready because she's been ready since Valentine's Day and she'd apologize for pushing me away in London and I'd forgive her because even though that hurt, none of that mattered anymore._

_I'd lie on top of her and kiss her neck and she'd whisper for me to keep going in my ear so I'd pull my shirt off so she could move her hands all over my stomach and around to my back and she'd take off my bra and I'd feel her hands on my body and know that I had been right. Quinn was the one for me. No one had ever made me feel how she did that night despite her lack of experience and no one makes me feel how she does in every other way._

_I fell on my bed face down continuing my fantasy and I wondered how soundproof these walls are. I guessed they weren't soundproof at all since this apartment was a cheap ass hellhole, but at least it had walls and I figured I could be quiet. I sat up and turned off the lamp by my bed leaving me in just about total darkness. I lay back down in my previous position and moved my hands to my jeans so I could unzip them. Normally, I wore dresses when I went out, but tonight I was feeling less like picking up a girl and just wanted to get my drink on. I slid my hand down where I needed it and thought about what Quinn would be doing if it were her hand._

_She'd gone slow in the hotel, so my guess is that after all this time, she'd want to go faster, but would be a little hesitant since I've basically been a big slut lately. She'd be worried that she wouldn't be able to take care of me because of all my worldly experience and I'd tell her she has nothing to worry about because just one touch down there already has me almost there. Her fingers would slide down and inside me and her pace would quicken because she really just needed a confidence boost._

_My fingers drifted down to my entrance and I pushed them inside thinking about how amazing her fingers would feel there instead of mine. I wanted her tongue though too. God, the first time she went down on me she hesitated and I told her she didn't have too, but she said she wanted too and even though her fingers felt perfect, I wasn't sure how she'd feel about what she was about to do with her mouth and I was pretty sure I'd have to fake it, but then her mouth was on my clit and suddenly I wasn't worried._

"_Fuck Quinn," I shouted that night and mouthed silently to myself as my own fingers worked me up. My hips were pushing down into the mattress forcing my palm to hit my clit over and over and I wanted it to be her._

_The bedroom door opened and light filled the room. I froze. If I moved my hand, she'd know what I was doing. _

"_San, are you asleep?" She asked. I heard her walk closer to the bed. I said nothing. "I just needed to go to the bathroom. Sorry if I woke you."_

_She walked toward the bathroom and I stayed frozen. When the door closed, I removed my hand and stayed in my facedown position. I would have to live in a damn apartment where the only bathroom is actually in the fucking bedroom._


	22. Chapter 22

Santana's POV:

So that was pretty much the worst rehearsal dinner ever. I arrived with a girlfriend and when it ended, she was walking toward the front desk to get her own room. Quinn only stayed long enough to finish that drink before telling Mike and Tina she didn't feel well. She left and Carrie left with her. Must be nice.

Now, I'm sitting in this room alone and I'm just waiting for the wedding and reception to be over so I can get the hell out of here and maybe try to make something work with Oli. I doubt that's going to happen and I don't even know that it's what I want, but I'm a terrible person most of the time and I can't have what I want… what I thought I was over. Quinn's with someone and she's in London. I can't just fucking move to London. My life is here and her life is there. Her fucking girlfriend is there.

There was a knock at the door and I grabbed Oli's makeup bag off the dresser. She had just called from her new room telling me she forgot it. I offered to bring it down to the third floor for her, but she insisted on coming up. I walked to the door and pulled it open.

"This is stupid. Can we just talk?" I asked and then I saw Quinn's face.

"That's why I'm here."

"Oh sorry, I thought you were Olivia." She lowered her head. "She changed rooms. She forgot this." I held up the bag. "She's on her way to pick it up."

"She's here," Olivia announced as she took the additional steps toward us. "Of course you're here, Quinn. Santana's been single all of 5 minutes. I actually expected you two to just fuck each other at the rehearsal dinner." She took the bag from my hand.

"That's not why I'm here. I just wanted to talk to her. I didn't know about you two." Quinn shared.

"Well, now you do." Olivia turned and walked down the hall. "You two deserve each other."

Quinn and I just stared at each other for a moment.

"I should just go."

"Does your girlfriend know you're here, Q?" I asked her.

"Yes, but she's not my girlfriend."

I perked up.

"She's not?"

"She never was. I mean, we're dating. Well, we were dating. She's basically been my girlfriend, but we never called it that and when she saw you two, I think she just put it out there for my benefit."

I waited until Oli was in the elevator and the door was closed before I moved aside to allow her to enter the room. She walked past me and I could smell her perfume. She stood near the desk in the corner with her arms wrapped uncomfortably around her body.

"You can sit down, Quinn." I motioned to the mini-sofa in the small suite.

"No, I can't."

"Why not?" I sat down instead leaning forward with my hands clasped nervously together.

"Because I'm not here to have sex with you."

I laughed loudly and looked up at her to see she was not laughing with me.

"You think I'm going to jump you if you sit on the fucking couch, Q?"

She looked at me seriously so I lost the smile and leaned back. I tried not to notice how hot she looked in that dress and those legs…

"We're hurting people, San."

"I know."

"We're hurting each other and we're hurting other people."

"I know."

"I don't want to hurt Carrie and I don't want to hurt Olivia and I don't want to hurt you and I definitely want to stop hurting myself."

"Then, tell me what you _do_ want, Fabray."

I stood and took a few steps toward her, but she stepped sideways between the bed and the TV hanging on the wall.

"Time."

"Jesus fucking Christ, Quinn. We should be married with two kids by now. You've had the better part of a decade."

"I mean _we_ need time."

"_We_ need each other." I told her.

"Maybe so, but your girlfriend of a year just broke up with you."

"I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. Oli is not you, Quinn. She could never be you."

"I get that, Santana and I've never felt for anyone what I feel for you. Why do you think I can't be around you?"

"Let's just call this what it is, Quinn. Let's just do this thing we've been missing out on for so long. I'm ready now." I took another step and she backed away.

"I want too, but not tonight."

"Then, when? Tonight is what we've got, Quinn. We're here now."

"I leave for London on Sunday. You go back to New York. I should try to see if I can salvage my friendship with Carrie and you and Olivia have some talking to do."

"I think she's done talking to me."

"You shouldn't be done talking to her, San. If you and I are going to have anything, you need to finish things with her like we never really did and that's what got us here hurting all these people."

"What I heard was that's what got us here." I moved again, but quicker this time so I could catch her before she could move away, but she was too fast for me and her back ended up against the wall. She had nowhere to hide now. I stood right in front of her and put my hands on her stomach over her dress and looked down at them. "Compromise?" I asked her.

"What?"

"You're think about the future and I'm the one who lives in the now. Compromise with me for a minute." She took a deep breath and I continued. "I'll consider the future for a second." I looked back down at my hands that were flat against her stomach. "Do you remember our date? Well, technically it wasn't a date, but that summer when we went to dinner and the whole thing and it was just us and we walked around the city a little and ended up at the apartment and talked all night and it was perfect?"

"I remember."

"You brought up Beth and how you wanted to see her if Shelby let you and I brought up that you should make more babies one day because you make beautiful babies and you said you weren't sure if you could go through that again and I said you could do anything."

"You did say that."

"I didn't say that I wanted to be there when you did and not as your best friend who babysits sometimes, but as your best friend and your girlfriend and your fiancé and then as your wife. That was my future then and it's my future now." I moved my arms up to her neck and then her cheeks. "Now, you live in the moment."

She leaned in and took my lower lip between hers and my arms immediately moved down around her waist. I opened my mouth further so her tongue could meet mine and I could barely contain the feelings my body was recognizing. It was like I was waking up from a long sleep because of her kiss and I moved my mouth away for a moment so I could stare into those eyes. They looked sad.

"If we're going to have that future, San, I need us to not do anything tonight."

"What?" I lightly pecked her lips. "Quinn, you're being ridiculous."

"I can't be the person who sleeps with a girl the same night she breaks up with her serious girlfriend while the girl I _was_ dating a few hours ago is just lying on our bed watching TV probably hating me because I dragged her all the way here to break her heart and now I'm in here with you."

I kept my hands where they were and considered what to say. I've never been the best with words.

"I guess if I've waited this long, I can wait a little longer, but Fabray, I'm fucking tired of waiting. I'm exhausted from waiting for you."

"I know."

"What about tomorrow? We've got this whole wedding thing to go too and then we leave for separate continents."

"I thought it was my job to think about the future." She smiled at me and I knew we'd be okay.

Santana's POV:

_Summer About 8 Years Ago:_

"_Santana, someone's at the door?" I heard her yell from my position behind the door. "San? Do you want me to get it?"_

"_Quinn, just answer the damn door." I yelled back._

"_San?" She opened the door to see me standing there. "What are you doing?"_

"_Picking you up." I smiled at my own cleverness._

"_What? You were just in the kitchen." She turned and pointed in that direction as if she still expected me to be there. _

"_Yeah, I know. Now, I'm picking you up for our night out. You ready?"_

"_You're weird. Hold on. I was finishing my hair. I left my phone in the bathroom." _

_I took a few steps into my own apartment and watched as she walked to the bedroom._

"_Just like a woman… making me wait."_

_I had to take a breath when she emerged because it was the first time I'd really looked at her in her completely ready form. She had on a gray knee length pencil skirt that could have been shorter, but I liked it anyway and this sleeveless blue shirt that gathered low around her neckline. Her hair was half pulled back and half down and God, she looked perfect. I had to remind myself that this was not a date._

"_Ready. Let's go. Wait. Where are we going?" She asked._

"_I don't know. I thought you'd plan something. You're the planner."_

"_San, I got all dressed up and we don't even have anywhere to go."_

_I laughed at her and put out my arm for her to loop hers through it._

"_I'm kidding, Q. I made a reservation and everything."_

_We got to the restaurant and the hostess sat us at our table immediately. I picked a somewhat classy joint that I knew I could afford. Even though this wasn't technically a date, Quinn deserved a nice dinner on me for all the crap I'd been putting her through lately. Plus, I guess I kind of hoped that if I showed her what a date with me could be like, she'd consider switching teams on a more permanent basis and we could be together and go on actual dates. _

"_This is nice, San."_

"_That's the idea." I set the cloth napkin in my lap._

"_What's good here?" She asked me and I laughed._

"_I've never actually been here, Quinn. How would I know?"_

"_You don't take all your girls here?"_

_I laughed again._

"_Quinn, there are girls and then there are ladies. You are a lady."_

_She squinted her eyes at me like she was considering what I had just said._

Quinn's POV:

_Summer About 8 Years Ago:_

_I've got to give her credit. San really went all out tonight. This restaurant is amazing and she called me a lady, which I loved, but also kind of hated because she keeps saying things like that and I get hopeful and then she brings a girl home. _

_I ordered linguine and she ordered fettuccini with shrimp and we just shared. We ordered this chocolate torte thing for dessert and had to share that because we had no room in our full stomachs to order two desserts. I stabbed the remainder of the torte on the plate while she sat back in her chair and sipped on her water. She insisted I have wine, but she said she was alcohol free tonight so I didn't think she was an alcoholic._

"_I like this place," I shared._

"_Yeah, we should come back here sometime."_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Yeah, you're paying next time though." She smiled at me._

"_Deal."_

"_So, I have something else planned if you're up for it."_

"_What is it?"_

"_Something I know you'd never do on your own."_

_We took a cab over to 5__th__ Avenue and when we got out I saw the sign and I knew exactly where she was taking me._

"_Santana, are you fucking serious?"_

"_What? They have extended hours tonight. I thought it'd be fun. Plus, you said you wanted to live in the moment."_

"_How is this living in the moment?"_

"_It's something you didn't plan for months in advance. It's something that has nothing to do with your future. It's something that's stupid and fun and you may actually learn a thing or two, Fabray."_

"_Are you saying I need to learn something here?" I was slightly offended._

_She laughed at me and took my arm in hers again._

"_I'm not saying you need to learn anything. I'm saying you might learn something. Come on, Q. Live a little."_

_I looked at her and considered how awkward this could get, but decided I'd just deal with it like I've been dealing with everything else._

"_Okay, but you have to do something for your future tomorrow."_

_I moved us along toward the door to the Museum of Sex._

Santana's POV:

_Summer About 8 Years Ago:_

_She told me I needed to do something for my future tomorrow, but I kind of felt like I was doing something for my future right now. I was taking the girl of my dreams out for an experience I know she'd be way too shy to ever do for herself. I can't lie though. I was interested to see her reaction to some of the exhibits. I was a little disappointed when the girl at the ticket desk told me the hours had changed and that we only had 5 minutes until closing._

"_If you want, you can just walk around and I won't charge you," she explained trying to be helpful._

"_San, let's just go somewhere else." _

"_You're not getting out of this," I told her with a smile._

"_I'm not trying too. Let's come back another time."_

"_I'm holding you to that one, Q."_

"_I know. I've met you."_

_I laughed at her and told the girl behind the desk that we'd just come back. We walked back outside into the warm night air. I kind of wished it had been a cool night because then I could do the whole give Q my sweater thing or since I wasn't wearing a sweater myself, I could run my hands up and down her arms quickly to try to warm her up and then I could take her hands in mine and rub them together and blow on them and maybe even kiss them. Wait. She's staring at me and waiting for me to say something._

"_Sorry, I guess I read the site wrong," I offered._

"_That's okay. We can come back whenever."_

"_Yeah, I guess."_

"_You're disappointed, aren't you? Did you hope to learn something in there?" She smiled and I nudged her side._

"_Ha! Please, you and I both know I'm all good in that department."_

"_In that department sure, but in the modesty department I think you can use some work."_

"_Then, take me to the Museum of fucking Modesty, Fabray. Consider that me thinking about bettering myself for the future."_

_She laughed loudly and I thought about how it feels when I hear her laugh, when I'm the one who makes her laugh._

"_When they build one of those, we'll be the first in line. I'll see if I can get you a membership or maybe they'll offer remedial classes." She paused. "That doesn't count by the way."_

"_What would count so I can get you off my back?"_

"_Tell me one thing you want to do with your life."_

_I can't tell her the first thing that comes to mind._

"_Music."_

"_Be more specific."_

"_God, you're demanding," I told her. "I want to be involved in music in some way. I love performing and I was thinking I'd like the behind the scenes stuff too. Then again, I really love food and that restaurant was pretty good. Maybe I'll be one of those food critics or something so I can just eat at fancy places and put it on the company card."_

"_You have diverse interests, Santana Lopez."_

"_There's this guy who has a band. They're really good, but they're terrible at marketing themselves. I'm pushy. You know that. I was thinking that could be a thing."_

"_You being pushy is already a thing."_

"_You're hilarious tonight. Maybe I should take you to a comedy club so you can try out this material," I offered and put my hand up for a cab. One pulled over immediately. Sometimes it pays to be a hot chick in this city. "You asked for one thing. That's my thing."_

"_Okay. Okay." We slid into the cab together and I gave the cabbie the address. "I think you'd be good at that."_

"_What about you, Q? You make all these plans. Which one are you going to pick?" She went to rest her head against the back of the seat and I put my hand out to catch it first. "Don't put your head against that. People in this city are gross."_

_She laughed at me and moved her head up so I could pull my hand back._

"_And now your hand is gross."_

"_I have antibacterial stuff. Come on, Fabray."_

"_I don't know. I haven't decided yet. That's why I keep making plans."_

"_What about the home life? Family and all that?"_

"_Oh God, I really don't know about that part. I want one person forever." I looked at her as she stared ahead through the windshield and thought about asking if I could be that one person. "I just don't know about kids yet. I was thinking about maybe seeing Beth while I'm here. Do you think Shelby would let me?"_

"_Are you done being crazy?" I asked her._

"_Yes." She rolled her eyes at me. _

"_Then, I think she would."_

"_Maybe I'll see how that goes and then figure out if kids are something I can handle."_

"_You can do anything, Q. Besides, I've seen Beth. You make a beautiful baby, Quinn. You should definitely make more one day."_

"_Maybe I will. Just not with Puckerman."_

"_That's gross. I like to forget he played a part in that."_

"_Me too."_


	23. Chapter 23

Quinn's POV:

I returned to my room after my conversation with Santana where we'd pretty much left things open and unclear, which is something we do apparently. Carrie was on the bed watching TV when I walked in.

"How'd it go?" She asked me while muting the TV.

"Why are you being so nice about this whole thing? I don't deserve it." I flopped down in the desk chair to remove my shoes.

"Honestly? Because I knew what I was getting into with you. You weren't over her."

"But I brought you all the way here-"

"Yeah, that part is rather terrible, but I kind of had a feeling something like this would happen."

"Then, why did you come?"

"Because you are amazing in bed." She smiled and I laughed at her. "What? I figured I'd better take advantage of it while I still could." I knew she was kidding and I appreciated her being kind to me after all this. I smiled at her as I sat back in the chair.

"I'm going to get another room tonight. Give you this one."

"Shouldn't you be sharing a room with her tonight?"

"No. We decided to spend tonight apart given the givens."

"You're in love with each other and you've spent the better part of your adult lives dancing around it."

"There's too much up in the air right now. I don't think it's a good idea. Olivia's still here and you're still here. It just feels wrong."

"Then, you'll stay in here with me."

"I'll just call the front desk and see if they have another room available." I leaned over to pick up the phone.

"You can do that if you want, but you don't have too on my account."

She turned the TV off mute and went back to watching her movie.

"I'm gonna get a room. I think I just need some alone time anyway and I know you are being amazing right now by putting up with me and I appreciate it more than you know, but-"

"Quinn, I think I should change my flight. I don't think I can go to the wedding. I thought I could, but I don't think I can."

I looked at her pleading eyes.

"I'll call the airline and change it for you." I realized she was trying to stick around for me, but that it was hurting her even more to try to put on the brave face.

I made the call and got her on a 9am flight. I called the front desk and booked myself another room. I packed my stuff while Carrie sat and watched TV while giving me glances every now and then. I zipped up my suitcase and lifted it into its upright position so I could pull up the handle. "I'm in room 214 if you need anything."

"Okay." She stood and followed me toward the door.

I turned toward her and tried to decide if I should hug her or shake her hand or just leave.

"I don't really know what to do. I feel like I'm just leaving you here and-"

"No matter what I say, you're still going to feel bad because even though you think you're a horrible monster right now, you're not. I know you didn't expect this to happen and never tell if you wanted this to happen."

"What? Carrie, that's-"

"I like you, Quinn, but we haven't known each other long enough for this to be a life altering experience for me. I'm going to be okay. You take your night away from everyone and everything and we'll say our goodbyes tomorrow when I leave."

"Okay."

"I don't know if you're planning to stay in the UK or if you'll move back to the states, but if you do end up sticking around, maybe we can be friends and if you do move back here, we can at least be Facebook friends or something."

"I'd like that."

She reached out to hug me and I hugged her back. I felt a little better about the whole thing and I also felt a little narcissistic because I had thought she'd be shattered and crying on the bed over me. She's right though, we like each other, but I love Santana and Carrie deserves to find that for herself one day and hopefully one day soon.

I got to my room and started to unpack for the second time, but I stopped after hanging up my dress for the wedding. I considered going back to Santana's room, but I was right earlier. I needed tonight to wrap my head around what had happened and what was happening with us. Olivia and Carrie may be our exes now, but they're still in this hotel and even though I'd love to fall asleep next to Santana for the first time in years, it felt wrong doing that with them still here. I curled up in my bed for the night and stared at the clock for about an hour just thinking about how I got here and what it felt like to kiss her again. My phone buzzed on the table and I reached over to check the message hoping it wasn't from work.

Santana: It feels like you should be here next to me. I know you said you need time and I will give it to you, but I need you.

I smiled and sent a quick reply.

Quinn: Tomorrow night, I'm all yours San.

Carrie left around 6am after telling me goodbye. I offered to drive her to the airport, but she said she'd just take the hotel shuttle. We hugged goodbye and I think considering everything, we'd actually left things on pretty good terms. She even smiled and waved in the shuttle as they drove off. I returned to my room to get a couple hours of sleep before I had to get ready for the wedding.

Santana's POV:

"Hey, thanks for meeting me." I said as I stood to try to hug Oli. We were in the restaurant of the hotel and I could only hope Quinn wouldn't make an appearance until we at least had a chance to talk. Oli opted not to hug me, but at least she sat at the table. "I ordered you some coffee. Do you want waffles?" I asked.

"No, I can't stay long. I had to get a flight into Newark to connect to JFK. I asked the driver to take me. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, of course."

She sipped on her coffee while I stared trying to figure out what to say to her.

"Did you guys talk last night?" She asked.

"Yeah, we did."

"Did you…"

"We didn't sleep together. She stayed in her room."

"Oh."

I took a drink of my coffee.

"Oli, I don't know what to say other than to just apologize again and tell you that I didn't expect this to happen."

"Can you just answer a question for me?"

"I'll answer any question you want."

"Was any of it real with us or were you always holding out for her?"

I gulped, but not because what she said was at all true, but because I had made her think it might be.

"Oli, everything with us was real. I've always loved Quinn. She's always been there in the back of my mind, but you and I were real. There was love there and there still is, it's just different now."

"Because of her."

I leaned over the table.

"I don't know if this will make it better or worse for you so I don't know how to say it."

"Just say it," she commanded before tearing a sugar packet and dumping it into her cup.

"I never lied to you. I saw a future with us, I did. The moving in together thing and all that, I thought we could have that some day."

"But you still loved her?"

"I can't explain it. It's just there. I didn't think I'd ever see her again and then she was at the reunion and it happened and then you and I were trying, but it's not working, Oli. Regardless of whether or not Quinn was at dinner last night, you and I both know this…" I motioned with my finger between us. "… is not working anymore. I know it's my fault, but you can't even look at me and we're not connecting how we used to and I don't mean sex. Even before that though, you wanted to move in and I wasn't ready. You were talking about a wedding and kids and I want those things, but I wasn't ready for them."

She stirred her cup while listening intently. She appeared to be taking it all in.

"Are you ready for them with her?"

I lowered my head.

"It's different with her. Before she left, she was my best friend for a good four years before we slept together and then I was in love with her for years after that while she was still around. I know what it's like to live with her. We were with each other through everything then and even though she's been gone, it's like I can just pick up where I left off with her."

"So, if she didn't come back, we'd still be broken up?"

"If not now, then some day. I just don't think our timelines were ever going to match."

She considered what I was telling her.

"I love you and I did think that maybe getting away for the weekend was a way for us to start again, but I don't know that I can. I thought I could forgive you and maybe I could have if was anyone other than her, but you two…"

"I know. She's like a magnet to me. I'm just drawn to her."

"What are you guys going to do?" She seemed genuinely concerned.

"I don't know. We've got some talking to do and there's geography to consider."

"So, are you together?"

"I don't know. I feel like we're both in the same place right now and we've put our cards on the table for the first time ever."

She looked out the window and the car I had hired to drive us around was waiting outside for her.

"I should go." She stood.

"Oli, are we going to be okay?" I stood up.

"It's weird because I was so angry last night and also sad, but mostly angry. This morning, it's like I feel completely different. There's still sadness there, but there's also mostly relief." She let out a deep breath.

"Relief?"

"I felt like there was so much pressure to live up to this girl you've loved and not just since the reunion, but since we met and you told me about her. Then, it got worse and I just kept thinking that I've got to be better than Quinn, I can't pressure you into moving in with me or taking these other steps that I wanted to take with you, but really I want to take with the someone who wants to take them with me and now I don't have to worry about that."

"You're welcome?" I somewhat joked hoping she would take it that way.

"Yeah, I'm not thinking you for that." She smiled. "I'll get my stuff from your apartment today and leave the key on the counter."

"Oli, you don't have to do that today."

"Yes, I do. It's for me, not you."

"Okay."

"And I'm going to need some time so if you can maybe avoid the restaurant for a while-"

"Done."

She leaned in and hugged me. I reached around her to hold her there for a minute until I felt her pull away.

"Goodbye, Santana."

"Bye. Have a safe flight."

I watched as she walked outside and got into the car. I could only hope that someday she and I could actually be friends.

Quinn's POV:

I readied myself for the afternoon ceremony by putting my hair back into a braided bun and dawning a light pink and white sundress. I put on my flats and grabbed my clutch. I was out the door with no time to spare. I walked down the hall and noticed someone waiting for the elevator.

"I see someone's actually on time for once." I expressed and she turned around. She was wearing one of her famous form fitting dresses in dark pink with white 3 or 4-inch heels.

"You look beautiful," she told me.

"We look liked we planned this, you know? These almost matching outfits."

"You look beautiful," she repeated. I smiled at her.

"Did Olivia decide to come?"

"Olivia is on her way home."

"Did you talk to her?"

"This morning. I took your advice on the whole just having it out thing. We had breakfast downstairs." The elevator arrived. We got in. "It actually went better than I thought it would. We're not exactly best friends and I'm going to leave her alone for a while, but I think we both understand now that it wasn't going to work regardless of you."

"I'm sorry, San."

"Be sorry for her because of what I did to her, but don't be sorry for me. I think I've known for a while that it wasn't going to work."

"Why not?"

She turned to me.

"Because my dumb ass has always been waiting for you."

I smiled.

"Hey San?"

"Yeah, Q."

"I know we both just ended things with people and I also I know I said I'd be all yours tonight, but do you maybe want to go to this wedding _with_ me today?"

She smiled.

"Like a date?"

"Yeah, like a date."

"Wait. I want to take that back."

"What? Why?" I panicked.

"I should have asked if it was like a first date?"

"Why does that matter?"

"Because a first implies a second."

I smiled at her and took her hand.

"Not with me, it doesn't."

"You are such a pain in the ass, Fabray." The door opened and our hands were still clasped together. I looked down at them and Santana noticed my glance. "Sorry, I forgot." She let go of my hand.

"Why'd you let go?"

"Because no one here knows you like the ladies, Q."

I took her hand back in mine.

"Yeah, I don't fucking care anymore."

She smiled and squeezed my hand as we walked through the lobby.

Santana's POV:

_February 20__th__ About 9 Years Ago:_

"_Hey there Q, what's up?" I answered the phone on speaker since I was getting dressed for work. "Miss this hot body already?"_

"_Why am I having a hard time hearing you, San?" _

"_You're on speaker."_

"_Where are you?" She sounded frantic._

"_The loft. Why?"_

"_The loft with no walls? San, what if Rachel or Kurt hear you?"_

"_They're not here and why would that even matter?"_

_I stopped moving around and picked up the phone._

"_Because I don't want them to know. I told you it stays between us."_

"_I remember what you said, Q. I haven't told anyone and I don't plan on it, so just relax, okay?"_

"_You can't say things like that about me missing your body, San."_

"_Please, if I stopped saying those things then people would get suspicious. Just chill, Quinn. I won't say anything. You won't say anything. Your little lady encounter is our little secret." _

"_You promise?" She wasn't frustrated or frantic anymore. She was concerned._

"_Quinn, I wouldn't do that to you. You know that." I paused and thought about lightening the mood. "Even though I'd love to tell the world I've seen Quinn Fabray naked and felt that nakedness against my nakedness."_

"_Santana!" _


	24. Chapter 24

Sorry all, meetings all day. Here's the next chapter. Also, I appreciate both the positive and the not so positive reviews and for the record, I don't hate anyone regardless of what you type. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion and to either like the story or not. If you feel things are unrealistic, that's fair, but I have had these kinds of conversations before one both sides of the situation. So, that's all I'll say about that and I'll let you read and tell me what you think.

Quinn's POV:

I meant what I said about not caring anymore, but I also knew that this was still Mike and Tina's wedding and I didn't want to take any attention away from that so when we arrived, I told Santana that we should hold back on the PDA until after it was over. It actually hurt me to say that, but I knew it was the right thing to do and I'd been doing a lot of wrong lately so I needed to do a little right.

We sat in the pew and I had another flashback. Turns out I wasn't alone in that.

"Did you think that day that sitting next to me in that church would get us here one day?" She leaned in to ask me.

I smiled at the feeling of her breath against my skin.

"No clue. You?"

"No. You were such a pretentious ass back then. All about doing your professor."

I laughed at her and looked around at the room of people who were now staring at us. Nice work on the laying low, Quinn.

"I don't want to talk about that ever again." I smiled at her and leaned over a little so I could kiss her cheek. "Seriously."

"We do have to talk though about what this is and how we're finally going to make it happen with you being over there and me being here. How are we going to do this Quinn? You know I don't deal well with distance."

I looked at her and smiled.

"We've got tonight." I paused. "We'll worry about the rest tomorrow."

The ceremony started and Tina looked beautiful as she walked down the aisle. I looked around the room at the rest of the people staring at Tina. I looked to Santana who was sitting on my left and she was looking at me. I smiled at her and motioned with my eyes for her to look at the bride. She rolled her eyes and looked away reluctantly.

Mike and Tina stood in front of the room, hands clasped together and everyone was listening intently to them as they exchanged their vows. Suddenly, I felt braver than I've ever felt. I leaned into Santana so I could whisper in her ear.

"I promise not to run anymore." I looked at her face as she smiled. "I promise to always remember what it was like to not have you in my life and how much it hurt both of us so I'll never do it again. I promise to tell my mom about how much I love you the next time I see her and I promise to stand between the two of you when she tries to attack you." She laughed and continued to look straight ahead as Mike put the ring on Tina's finger. "I promise to always talk to you and to really talk to you… to tell you how I feel and not keep it to myself because we can't keep missing each other because we're not really talking. I promise to live in the now sometimes, but to always look ahead too because I've always wanted to look ahead with you." I felt her hand land on mine and she pulled them both to her lap. "I promise to marry you someday in that wedding we created for ourselves years ago and if you honestly want Baby Got Back as our first dance, I will let you have that one as long as you let me always be the one who gets to hold your hand like this and whisper in your ear like this." There was a tear falling on her cheek and she reached quickly with her other hand to wipe it away because she's Santana after all. No one can see her cry. She looked down at our hands and made an outline on my ring finger.

"I promise to put a ring there someday. God, someday soon." She started. "I promise to always remember that you're the one I picked, Q. You're the one I've picked over and over again." She looked at me and her free hand went to my chin and slid down my neck to cover my heart. "I promise to always protect this and to never let anyone hurt you. I promise if it's me that hurts you, it was not on purpose and I will be sorry. I promise to try to think of these future things with you, but I'm better in the present so I promise to make sure you have fun in the moment as often as possible. I promise to not make you dance to Baby Got Back at our wedding that again, I cannot stress enough, should be soon, but I also promise to make you dance to it at some point for me privately because I love watching you dance." Tina's vows were done. Santana looked away for a moment as the newly married couple kissed. "And I promise to apologize to Tina and Mike for this later, but I can't not do it." She leaned in and kissed me as her arms both moved around my neck and pulled me in. I knew there were probably eyes on us, but I didn't care. I was finally kissing Santana Lopez on a date and I couldn't care less if the entire world saw us.

Santana's POV:

_About 6 Months Ago:_

"_I can't believe you're really doing this, Santana," Rachel shared as we walked into the jewelry store._

"_What? Buying a ring?"_

"_Yes, buying a ring. Buying an engagement ring for a girl who you plan to ask to marry you."_

_We walked to the counter._

"_I'm not asking her tomorrow, Berry. I just want to take a look at my options. Oli and I aren't even living together yet."_

"_Yeah, but you're here, aren't you? This is a big deal. Santana Lopez finally settling down."_

"_I'm not settling down."_

_The man behind the counter finished with another couple and approached us._

"_And what can I do for the two of you, ladies?"_

"_We're looking for an engagement ring."_

_He looked at Rachel._

"_I see. Well, you two make a lovely couple."_

_I followed his eyes and gave him an "I can't believe you'd think that" face._

"_Ewe, gross. She's not my girlfriend."_

"_Gee, thanks Santana." Rachel held up her hand. "I'm already married… to a man."_

"_Oh, my mistake. So, what does your girlfriend like?"_

"_Um… I don't know. Diamonds." _

"_How about I bring you a selection and you tell me if any of them will work."_

"_Fine."_

_He walked off._

"_Santana, why are we even here? You don't seem like you're really into this and you're not even proposing."_

"_Because I'm thinking about the future and what not. I don't know. She's talking about moving in a lot and I know she wants to get married some day and that whole thing. So, I figured I'd get the ring and just be ready."_

_He came back over with a tray of about 12 rings. I saw one immediately that would be perfect._

"_Are any of these to your liking?"_

"_That one." I pointed. "I'll take it."_

"_Santana, you need to look around and ask about cut and clarity and-"_

"_Shut it, Berry." I looked back at the ring. "I want that one. Can you wrap it up for me?"_

"_Absolutely."_

_He walked away with the tray and went to wrap up my new purchase._

"_Santana, no offense, that's a beautiful ring. That's a huge ring, but it doesn't really seem like Olivia to me. She's not really a jewelry girl to begin with. Don't you think she'd like something smaller with maybe a rounded edge to it?"_

"_I'm sorry, did you go to diamond school while I wasn't looking, gnome? Are you dating my girlfriend?"_

"_No, I was just thinking-"_

_I calmed down a little._

"_It's cool. Thanks for coming to help, but it was easier than I thought it would be. I'm good."_

_He came back over with a little blue box all tied up perfectly and I handed him my credit card. This ring is perfect for her. Wait. _


	25. Chapter 25

Santana's POV:

"Dance with me, Q." I held out my hand for her to take. We had been at the reception for about an hour and I was growing restless. None of the people we knew had witnessed our brief make out session and the couple sitting behind us only admonished us in Chinese before applauding Mike and Tina so I wanted to dance with Quinn in front of the entire group of people. I wanted this to be out there… to be official so neither of us could run from it again.

"Well, I do like slow dancing with girls." She stood and took my hand. I walked her to the dance floor and put my arms around her neck. She draped hers around my waist.

"Are we really going to do this, Quinn?" I asked her as I leaned in and kissed her neck.

"Do that again." I did. "I think we kind of have too, San. We're both miserable without the other."

I smiled into her neck and kissed her for a third time. I pulled back and decided to do what I didn't do the first time we'd danced at a wedding.

"I'm going to kiss you now." I warned her, giving her another out in case she was at all unsure of the world knowing about us.

"No, I'm going to kiss you." She leaned in and kissed me before I could tell her she was being ridiculous and I could feel the eyes on us immediately. I put my hand on her cheek and ran my fingers down her neck and down her chest between her breasts and held it on her hip.

"Oh my God!" I heard Rachel yell over the music.

"Finally!" I heard Hummel say.

"Kurt, let them be," Blaine added.

"Santana and Quinn? What the hell is happening?" I heard Tina ask probably to Mike, but the whole room heard it.

I kept kissing the girl in my arms because she was right. We had tonight. We didn't know about tomorrow yet and I didn't want to waste any time. She pulled back and I went to protest, but she put her finger over my lips.

"I love you."

"I love you, too." I smiled. Finally.

She pecked my lips and rested her head on my shoulder.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. Our flight from LA was delayed. Did I miss the whole thing?" A very pregnant Brittany asked. I looked up to see her standing there with her husband and toddler.

"I think you just arrived in time for the good stuff." Kurt walked over to hug her and I held onto Quinn tightly.

"She knows," she whispered to me.

"What?" I asked her.

She looked at me.

"I ran into her in London right after I left. She thought we were together then. I told her we weren't, but she thought we should be."

"She's perceptive that way."

I leaned in and kissed her again.  
"About damn time." Brittany stood in front of us holding her belly. "Feel this, San. I think it wants out."

I shook my head and laughed at her and felt her stomach. Quinn did too and just like that, we were the Unholy Trinity again. Definitely even less holy now that Quinn was no longer a member of the abstinence club and was now someone that enjoyed sex with the ladies.

"When are you do?" Quinn asked her.

"It feels like any minute now. They didn't want to let me on the plane, but I knew San was going to be here and I wanted to at least visit with her before I get tied to LA with this one and a new one too."

Quinn looked down at the little girl with dark blonde hair, a combination of Brittany's blonde and Harold's brown.

"She's beautiful, Brit."

"She's a terror, but we love her. You two gonna have any?"

Quinn's eyes got huge.

"Brittany, we're technically on our first date. You wanna maybe give us a few years."

"Please, Quinn's been ready to have your babies since college."

Quinn looked at her in disbelief and then nodded her head in agreement.

"Really, Fabray?"

"Can we just get through one date before we start talking about kids, San?" I winked at her.

"Living in the moment, I like it." I put her hands in mine. "Sorry Brit and baby, I needs to be dancing with my lady." I looked at her.

"Let's dance." She walked backwards toward the dance floor.

Quinn's POV:

_Valentine's Day 9 Years Ago:_

_I don't know what happened to my confidence. Downstairs I was all about getting her upstairs and now I can't seem to put words together. She's literally staring at me right now waiting for me to answer her question and I don't know what to say. It's just yes or no. Are you sure you want to do this, Quinn? Yes or no._

_She leaned down to kiss me again and her tongue moved itself into my mouth. I moaned audibly and her naked body pressed further into mine. Yes, I'm pretty sure._

"_Are you really sure, Q?"_

"_I'm really sure."_

_She kissed me again slowly and I remembered I was supposed to move. So, I moved my arms around her back and pulled her in. I wanted her to know I wanted this too. She moved to kiss my neck and I shuddered._

"_Is this okay?" She asked as she moved to make eye contact._

"_I've never… I'm nervous. I wasn't downstairs, but I am now and I don't know what I'm doing."_

"_We were drunk down there, Quinn. I think we've sobered up a little since we lost our clothes. We can stop."_

"_I don't want to stop. I just don't want you to expect-"_

_She leaned back down and kissed my collarbone._

"_I don't expect anything, Quinn. I'm okay if you want to just sleep and I'm okay if it's just me doing things to you. Really. Just tell me what you're okay with."_

"_Can we just pause for a second?"_

_She moved to sit up and straddle me._

"_We can do whatever you want." _

_She was breathing heavily, but it wasn't from activity. God, I think she's nervous too. She's beautiful. I put my hands on her hips and just held them there. Her breathing slowed a little._

"_Can you come back down here?"_

_She smiled and moved back down, but slid to my side instead of on top of me._

"_How's this?" She asked as she dragged her index finger up and down my stomach and in between my breasts._

"_Not exactly what I had in mind, but at least you're closer."_

"_We can just do this, you know? We can just lie here." Her finger moved to my chin and she turned my face toward her. She meant what she was saying. She's Santana and she loves sex, but she'd be okay with us not doing anything else tonight. Her finger moved back down to my abdomen and then to my thigh. She watched as it moved. I took my hand and put it over hers to stop it. She looked at me to check to see if what she was doing was wrong, but I smiled and moved her hand to my center and my back lifted off the bed and she just looked into my eyes as they closed and opened back up quickly. She leaned in and pressed her forehead to mine and moved one finger over my clit. Her breath sped up and I knew what I had started because her lips were on mine and her finger was joined by another and she was speeding up her movements._

"_That feels good," I told her._

"_You'll have to tell me if you want me to slow down." She stayed there on my side and kept kissing me in between staring into my eyes while her fingers continued their work. "God, you feel good, Q." She kissed me again and I could feel her fingers move lower. "Can I…?"_

"_Yes." I kissed her and pulled her over so she was on top of me. Her body pressed into mine and at the same time her fingers went inside._

"_Jesus!" She exclaimed while I stopped breathing momentarily._

_Our bodies moved together and her lips traveled to my chest. Her other hand moved from holding herself up to my breast which she massaged and those two things together were enough to carry me over the edge._

"_Oh my God!" My body lifted off the bed and she kept moving inside me only slowing a little as I came down. "Oh my God."_

_She stopped and looked down at me. I was a little embarrassed at how quickly my body reacted._

"_Are you okay?" She kissed me and pulled back to look into my eyes again._

"_I'm okay. If I say that was amazing, you can't be a smartass and say of course it was."_

_She smiled at me and leaned down to kiss my chest again._

"_I won't, but you're right. It was amazing. You were amazing."_

"_But I didn't do anything-"_

"_That's not really how it works, Quinn. It's not just about one person doing something to the other person. It's about what it feels like just being together."_

"_And I felt amazing?" I winked at her._

"_Yeah, but don't make a whole big thing about it."_

_I took a second to think about what just happened and what I wanted to happen next._

"_I want to do that to you." She smiled again._

"_You don't have too."_

"_Shut up, okay? I want too."_

"_Okay. Sorry."_

"_I just… I may need you to walk me through it."_

"_I can do that. Can you promise to tell me if it gets to be too much?"_

"_Jesus Santana! I'm not a damn rag doll. Just let me do this already before I change my mind." I basically tossed her body on the bed and climbed on top of her while she laughed._


	26. Chapter 26

Santana's POV:

I stood on one side of the bed while Quinn stood on the other. We were basically just staring at one another and I honestly had no problem just staring at her forever. She had moved her stuff into my suite and we had changed into our pajamas separately.

"Why is this weird?" She asked me.

I laughed and looked down at my hands.

"I don't know. We've done all this before."

"I know. I'm nervous though."

"Let's just lie down and watch a movie. Something ridiculous on Lifetime maybe. We can order snacks from room service and just talk."

She smiled at me and hopped onto the bed.

"That sounds perfect."

We had a few drinks from the mini-bar before room service brought us the French fries and wings we'd ordered. I know, romantic. It's what we felt like.

"That summer I was in New York and we had that night…"

"Yeah?"

"This reminds me of that."

"The night we didn't go to that sex museum?"

"Yes, that night." She laughed at me and ate another fry before shoving the plate away from her. I took the hint and picked up the tray and moved it to the table. I sat on the edge of the bed next to her and put my hand on her thigh.

"Can I get serious on you for a minute?"

"If you must." She leaned back, but took my hand in hers.

"I know I can't just ask you to move to New York. It wouldn't be fair because I can't just move to London."

"Ask me." She looked at me and pulled my arm so I'd move to a more kneeling on the bed position. I moved more so I could straddle her while sitting up. "Ask me, San."

"Q-"

"Ask me to move to New York."

"Will you move to New York?"

"No."

My face registered both anger and disappointment.

"Bitch."

She took my hands and made me lean down while she moved herself to be flat on her back and continued to laugh at me.

"I have to go back for a while and get my stuff together and quit my job that I used to love, but now I kind of hate because the people are driving me nuts."

"You'd really move to New York for me?"

"I'd move to New York for me. You're a bonus, baby."

I leaned down and kissed her and let go of her hands so I could put my hands on her hips instead.

"How soon can you move?"

"I need to find a place to move too first, San." I kissed her again.

"Why would you need to do that? I've already told you you're the only person I can stand to live with." My hands drifted under her shirt.

"I'm not moving in with you. Keep doing what you're doing though."

I sat up instead of following her instructions.

"Oh you're moving in with me and you're going to fucking love it, Fabray."

"Santana-"

"Quinn, I have waited for you to get your shit together and you have waited for me to get my shit together for too long. I don't want you to get an apartment for a year and then move in and I don't want to do the thing where we're at your place and then my place and we're shuffling our shit back and forth. I want to do the thing where you're always there when I fall asleep and you're there when I wake up. I want to do the thing where we argue about the toothpaste cap or who has to go to the grocery store to pick up milk for your damn coffee."

"What if you get sick of me?"

"It hasn't happened yet. I really don't think it's going to happen."

She lifted my shirt to put her hands under it and around my back.

"You are seriously hot, Santana Lopez." She sat up and kissed my stomach and no one makes me feel this good just from kissing me there.

"Move in with me and you can have all this all the time." I lifted her head and kissed her.

"I'll think about it."

"Fine. Think about it later. I've missed you so much, Q. I just want to be kissing you right now." I moved my legs so they were between hers instead of around them and I leaned into her.

"San, I think we should take things slow." She explained.

"I'm really okay with that." My tongue was sliding across her bottom lip and she took it into her mouth before letting it go so she could kiss me. I pulled back and pecked her lips. "Why don't you just let me hold you all night so we can get practice?"

"Practice?" She kissed me on my neck.

"Yeah, practice. The falling asleep next to each other and the holding each other all night and the waking up in the morning. I'll even argue with you about the toothpaste tomorrow so just make it as realistic as possible."

"You'd be okay with us not having sex tonight when you know I'm leaving for a while tomorrow?" She appeared to be surprised, but I guess I shouldn't be. One of my defining characteristics the last time she and I spent a significant amount of time together was the fact that I loved sex and wanted it pretty much all the time.

"I think okay is a strong word. You know I want too, but I think we need to start this thing with a lot of talking. I want to know all the details of what I missed and I want to share my details with you."

"I'd like that."

"Good, but for now since you are here, I'd at least like a very long make-out session." She laughed and I moved my hand to her cheek. "I really, really missed you, Quinn."

"I really, really missed you."

Santana's POV:

"Call me when you land." I ordered as I tugged on her jacket because I needed something to hold onto.

"I will. I promise."

"Call me when you get home too and before you fall asleep and when you wake up and-"

"How about I just call you and I won't hang up? My cell phone bill will be astronomical, but you're rich, right? You'll take care of it."

I laughed half-heartedly.

"I love you, Quinn Fabray."

"I love you, Santana Lopez."

"Please get your life together and get back to me soon. Come home to me, Q."

"I promise." I kissed her forehead to get her to look up at me. "Wait for me." I winked.

"Fuck, that's all I've been doing."

I kissed her deeply one last time before she had to get into the security line. I watched her until I couldn't see her anymore and I did my best to smile to hide my sadness.

"I'm going to marry that damn girl."

Santana's POV:

_About 6 Months Ago:_

"_Santana, you got this ring for Olivia?" Kurt asked me as he looked at it in the box._

"_Who else would I get it for, Lady Hummel?"_

"_This ring just doesn't feel like her."_

"_Why do people keep saying that? It's a beautiful, expensive fucking ring."_

"_That is like nothing I've ever seen her wear. Plus, Oli and I were looking at a bridal magazine-"_

"_Insert homo joke here."_

"_Yeah, the gays like their bridal magazines. You're getting lazy with your zingers in your old age, Satan. Anyway, she pointed out a ring she liked and it looked nothing like this."_

"_So, if she doesn't like it, I'll take it back."_

_Kurt looked at me seriously and turned the box so I could see the ring._

"_You know who would love this ring?"_

"_My girlfriend, I hope."_

"_You know, us gays love our bridal mags, but we're also really good at picking up vibes."_

"_Do not give me that gay hipster nonsense."_

"_Fine. Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you. You give her this thing and she'll take it because it is beautiful and she's too nice to tell you to take it back, but it's not her, Santana."_

_I closed the box and walked to my desk and put the light blue box inside the drawer with the files in it I knew Oli never opened._

"_I don't know why I still talk to you when I don't have too."_

"_Santana, you can't give one girl a ring you bought for another girl you haven't heard from in years and you can't just hang onto it in case you do hear from her. You can't keep holding onto something that's not going to happen."_

Quinn's POV:

"Hey baby," I said to Santana's face on my Mac screen.

"Hi beautiful. I miss you."

"I miss you too. I cannot wait for you to get here tomorrow."

It had been a month since Mike and Tina's wedding and God I missed her. I'd turned in my resignation and I was nice enough to give them time to find a replacement. My apartment was not nearly packed up, but it was packed enough for me to leave here for a while. My lease was good for the next three months. Santana and I will come back and pack the rest up and either take it to New York or get rid of it.

"I know. I should be getting to sleep soon so I get up on time and make my flight."

"Come home to me, Q."

"I'm working on it."

"Will you just admit you're going to be living with me instead of making me go apartment hunting with you?"

"I told you I would think about it and I am thinking about it."

"It's been a month, baby. You're smart. What the hell is taking so damn long?"

"I'm scared, San." I admitted and watched as her face turned to one of concern.

"What are you so scared of?"

"We've both wanted this for so long and I'm afraid that if-"

"If?" She sounded scared.

"Not like that. I just mean that if we do this and we move in together right away and it doesn't work…"

"Q, we've already lived together."

"We were in college, San and we've both changed a lot since then."

"And we've spent the past month talking… only talking I might add because you're so far away. I just want you here. Don't you want to be here?"

"Of course I do. I'm moving across the world. You know I want to be with you," I tried to comfort her through a screen.

"I mean here as in this building with me full time, not New York, Quinn."

"Aren't you worried about us moving too fast after all this time?"

"No. I'm worried about the fact that you're worrying about it though."

"You know it's not like that, San. I love you and I want those things I promised you."

"Then, get here already."

I laughed a little at her impatience. I understood what she was saying. I wanted to move in. I wanted to marry her and start living our life together, but it terrifies me that if I move right in, we'll realize this was all some big fantasy that wasn't meant to be. I know in my heart that this is right, but my brain sometimes overrules my heart.

"San, if we do this-"

"We'll finally get what we've always wanted." I smiled at her and watched as she smiled back. "Just get here, baby. We can talk about all this tomorrow. I will convince you to move in with me and you'll stop thinking so damn much and just realize that we are going to be fine no matter where you live, but that it's stupid for you to get a place when you're just going to be here all the time anyway. Plus, there's the fact that I love you and you love me and we were pretty much supposed to be together this whole time so we're already behind."

"But we don't have to rush just because we're behind, San."

"Maybe not, but I don't really think we're rushing either. How long have you known me?"

"Since I was 14. You know that." I shifted the laptop so I could see her without a glare.

"How long have you loved me?"

"A long, long time."

"Do you think we'll get married someday?"

"You know I do."

"And those kids you want, are they our kids?"

"Yes." I smiled.

"Then, you have nothing to be scared of, Q."

"I know. I'm just-"

"Just sleep, baby. We can talk about this tomorrow when you get here and I will make sure you're not scared anymore."

"You're already kind of doing that."

She smiled.

"Good. I'll take care of the rest of that tomorrow when I finally get to hold you and kiss you. I love you, Quinn. If you honestly think you're not ready, I will help you find that apartment, but if you're scared that this won't work out because we've wanted it for so long and we've built it up in our minds, then you aren't as smart as I thought you are and I know that's not the case."

"I love you."

"I know. Now, go to sleep so you can get here."

"Okay. Good night, San."

"Night, Q. I love you."

I closed the laptop and quickly downed two sleeping pills. I knew the anticipation would kill me and I'd never get any sleep knowing she was one plane ride away.

Santana's POV:

"Hey Oli." I walked into the kitchen and saw her standing there slicing apples with a very sharp knife. I took a few steps back just in case.

"Boss." She replied sarcastically and returned to her chopping.

"How are you?"

"Still a little heartbroken. You?"

"Oli…"

"You asked. Do you need something related to the restaurant, San? I'm not really ready for the whole friends thing yet."

"I wanted you to know that I'm going to be here tomorrow night."

She looked up and held the knife in her hand and had it pointed in my direction.

"You're here right now. Why the warning about tomorrow?"

"You may want to take the night off."

She set the knife down.

"You're bringing her, aren't you?"

"It's just this once. I'm sorry. I promise I won't bring her here if you're working and I know I'm asking for something that I shouldn't be asking for, but-"

"It's your restaurant. You love her. You want to bring her here. I'll take the night off and then I'll start looking for another job."

"You don't have to do that. I'm hardly ever here anyway."

"No, it's a good thing. I want to be a chef. Look at me. I'm supposed to be running this place and I'm chopping apples. You have a chef already. This way, I get the job I want and you and I don't have to run into each other."

"Olivia, if that's what you really want, then I'm happy for you, but you don't have to do that."

"It's what I really want, Santana." She paused. "It'll be good for me. Besides, I'm really not ready to see the two of you together and I've been doing a lot of soul searching lately and you and I weren't really ever friends. We were just together. I don't know if I can just work for you and try to be friends especially if as a friend I'd have to hear about your perfect life with Quinn. Maybe someday, but that someday isn't coming anytime soon. So, I think you should start looking for a replacement and I'll start looking for something else."

"Okay. I get it, I guess. I'd say I'm sorry again, but I think you're tired of hearing that from me so I'll start looking for a replacement."

"I'd say you already found one, but that would be petty."

I smiled at her and she smiled briefly before returning to her chopping.


	27. Chapter 27

Quinn's POV:

"This is it." Santana opened the door to her apartment and I walked in. I'd seen it on the screen when she gave me a Face Time tour, but it looked even better in person.

"It's beautiful. Your place is beautiful." She came up behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist. I put my hands over them.

"It's your place too."

"Is that how you're going to convince me to move in?" I smiled and turned my face a little. She kissed my cheek.

"No, that's just a fact." She kissed my neck. "Are you tired? There's somewhere I'd like to take you if you're up for it."

"I'm okay. I slept on the flight."

"Okay, why don't you take a shower and get all fancy for me and I will take you somewhere special?"

"Special, huh?" I turned around in her arms and kissed her. "Join me in the shower?"

"I'd love too, but I've got some last minute preparations to take care of. You go ahead. I'll get you naked later." She winked at me and pulled me by the hand to the bathroom where she started the shower for me and kissed me again before heading out. I had no idea what she was planning, but it's Santana so anything's possible.

Santana's POV:

I lied. I already made the necessary preparations. I just needed to wrap my brain around the fact that she was really here and that this was really happening. Life was changing fast these days and I was just trying to keep up.

She came out of the bedroom dressed and ready to go looking amazing as always.

"You clean up nice," I delivered the obvious and took her hands in mine. "You ready?" I asked her, but I was also kind of asking myself.

"Yeah, are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"No."

We pulled up to 5th Avenue and I looked over at her and she was just shaking her head sideways.

"This place is still here?" She asked me and I laughed.

"You promised me we'd go and we never did."

"So, instead of having hot shower sex with me earlier, you want to take me to a museum about sex?"

"I thought it would be fun to kind of relive some things today."

"We didn't go the first time. How is this reliving?"

"Reliving some things. Making up for things we missed out on though too." I took her hand and opened the door so we could slide out together.

"Fine, but don't tell me I need to learn anything here like you did last time." I pulled her toward the door.

"I never said you _needed_ to learn anything. I said you might and besides, I'm not really sure I even want you learning anything here. You seem to have picked up some things in our time apart."

She laughed and opened the door for us to walk through.

"So, I guess it was okay that I only had sex with like 5 people after all, huh?"

"Okay, now it's just gross. I don't want to talk to you about the people you've had sex with that aren't me."

"And I never want to hear about you having sex with other people either. I spent the better part of my college years trying to figure out how to wipe those images from my brain."

"Yeah, sorry I was a little bit of a whore back then."

We walked to the ticket desk.

"A little bit?" She jokingly emphasized and I handed my credit card to the guy standing behind the desk who was staring at me. Quinn must have noticed and she took my hand back and leaned in to kiss me. He just looked back down at his computer. I laughed at her.

"Hey Q, do you remember our first kiss?" We took our tickets and walked down the hall that led to the actual museum.

"I told you. I remember everything about that night."

"I was so nervous."

She looked over at me.

"_You_ were nervous?"

"Yes, I was nervous. Don't tell anyone."

She leaned in so she could rest her head somewhat on my shoulder as we walked.

"What made you so nervous?"

"Well, it was you. Also, I knew it was your first kiss with a girl and I didn't want to screw it up."

She lifted her head and kissed me on the cheek.

"You didn't screw it up."

"I didn't?"

"San, I had sex with you. If you would have screwed the kiss up I wouldn't have let you screw me."

I laughed at her and we finally made our way to the date we should have had a long time ago.

Santana's POV:

_Valentine's Day About 9 Years Ago:_

_Quinn is sitting on the edge of the bed and I am leaning against the desk chair with my hands in front of me trying to figure out how to handle this. It's Quinn and I don't want to do something if she doesn't really want it._

"_What are you thinking about?" She asked me while leaning back on the bed on her hands._

"_I'm wondering if I'd be taking advantage of the fact that you had a lot to drink tonight and I'm trying to figure out if I care."_

_She stood up and removed her jacket and walked toward me. She stood in front of me and put her hand on my side to move me so she could hang the jacket on the chair I had been standing in front of. I reached over to take her hand and pull it toward me holding it in both of mine. She looked down at them and took a step back so I could return to the spot I had previously occupied and my arms went around her neck. She hesitated for a moment before putting hers around my waist and I hesitated before leaning in and placing my lips within an inch of hers. I felt her breath against my lips and I could tell it was shaky. I could only hope she couldn't feel the shakiness in mine because one of us needed to keep our shit together if this was going to happen and I wanted this to happen. _

_I nuzzled my nose against hers and she moved her head slightly to the side so I could lean in the rest of the way and finally connect our lips. I moved the kiss along slowly and pulled my arms back so I could put my hands on her cheeks and use my thumb to pull her bottom lip down so I could move my tongue into her mouth. I heard her moan softly when it met her tongue and I let her lead from there wanting this to be about her and not just about me wanting to do this. I felt her arms move up my back and she started to slide them back down taking my zipper with them. _

_I stopped the kiss so I could move my lips to her neck and my arm went to her side and then moved again to find her zipper. Part of me wanted to get her out of these clothes, but the other part was actually just enjoying this part. There was this feeling I couldn't explain. I had pulled her quickly from the reception into the elevator and then we practically ran through the hallway and into the room and now everything was slowing down and it felt good to move my lips to her collarbone and around to the other side of her neck as her dress fell to the floor. I wanted to pull back so I could look at her, but I could feel her body trembling and I decided instead I needed to show her that we were in this thing together. I move my hands to hers and motioned for her to help me slide my dress down too. _

_We stood in front of each other and I felt completely naked even though I wasn't and her arms went around her torso in an attempt to cover herself up. _

"_Quinn, you're beautiful." I took a step toward her and unwrapped those arms so I could lean back in and kiss her again. It took a second before I felt those arms around me again and I moved my kisses down between her breasts and then to her stomach where I held my hands on her sides and she put her hands on my shoulders and used them to push the hair away from my face for me so I could continue with kissing her belly button. I moved my lips down again to the band of her black lace panties, which I found particularly hot and I used my teeth to pull the band off her skin and it snapped back._

"_Santana!" She scolded.  
I looked up at her._

"_Can I take them off?"_

_I moved my lips down a little further and kissed her as my hands wrapped around her back and found themselves inside the panties clutching her skin. Her head went back a little._

"_Yes." That was more of a sigh than and actual word and I smiled as I moved back up her body. My hands went to her chest where I noticed she had on a bra with a front clasp. I undid it and watched as it fell away and I leaned in to kiss her shoulder while sliding the straps off. I stepped back and she shook it off, but I grabbed it from her and tossed it aside with a smile causing her to laugh a little. I reached around my own back and took mine off. I could tell she was purposely looking into my eyes so she could avoid looking down._

"_You can look, Quinn. It's okay." Her eyes moved down and suddenly I was nervous again. She gave me a nervous smile. "Do you want to lie down?"_

"_Yes." Another sigh. She sat first and then slid back. I waited until I thought she was comfortable before I reached down and pulled my underwear down my thighs and off my body. I tossed them somewhere and kneeled on the bed and I used my hands to reach for that band again and I slowly pulled it down. I tossed them somewhere and wasted no time moving my hands to her knees where I held them momentarily still. She looked at me and spread her legs and slid them down so that her knees were no longer in the air and I moved so that I was on top of her. I felt our skin meet for the first time and I shuddered which caused her to shudder. I have done this many times. I do not know why I'm the one shuddering at contact. Why am I so nervous right now?_

Santana's POV:

I had the car pull us around the side of the building so I could talk before I showed her where I was taking her. It is nice having money. I can actually afford a car to take my girlfriend around this city instead of a dirty old cab. The museum was interesting and we had laughed while walking around. Honestly, I don't even remember what we saw. I was just so happy to have her next to me instead of on the phone or on a screen, I barely paid attention to what was going on around us.

We got out of the car for our second stop on my little adventure and I took her hand and started walking her to our destination.

"So, my restaurant in Lima…"

"Is that a question?"

"No. It's me not being able to say words correctly right now. Sorry. Um… we just kind of walked in and sat down and I know neither of us really paid attention to the menu that night."

"Yeah, my mind was on something else."

I stopped us for a second because I wasn't saying this right and we were almost there.

"Did you catch the name of the place when we walked in?"

She thought for a second.

"Oh God, I guess I didn't. How did I miss that?"

"I didn't exactly call attention to it and for good reason."

She looked confused.

"And…"

"I'm the biggest shareholder. I got to name it." I paused to take a shaky breath. "I named it Lucy Q's." I took her hand and turned the corner, not waiting for her reaction. "Do you remember this place?"

"It seems familiar. Santana you named a restaurant after me?"

"I've named 4 restaurants after you. I guess I'm lucky Oli never put two and two together. She knew you and I hooked up, but I didn't mention it was on Valentine's Day and she knew about the kiss, but not the London part. That information is important because…" I motioned toward the building. "This is the Italian place we went to that summer. It closed down. I bought it and name it London's. The one in San Francisco is called Valentine's. If I end up opening one in London, maybe I'll name it New York or I'll just let you name it. Even when you disappeared on me because you're nuts, I was always thinking about you. I kept trying to push you out of my brain, but you're basically stuck there." I laughed at how I had picked London as a possible location with her in mind. "Oh, I named the one opening in Chicago next month Beth's. I hope that's okay."

Her eyes went wide and I wasn't sure if I was scaring her off. This whole plan may have been a big mistake. Maybe I'm laying on the eternal love thing a little thick for a girl that isn't sure she's ready to live with me.

"You bought this place and named it after me? You named a restaurant after my daughter?"

"Maybe someday, I'll open another one and name it after our daughter." I can't seem to stop this love word vomit. I checked her eyes and they told me she was happy and not at all terrified. Maybe this was the right way to go after all. "Come on."

I took her by the hand and opened the door for her so we could walk inside.

"Santana, where is everybody?"

"We're only open for dinner. The place is ours until then. Well, it's ours whenever we want, but it's ours for now." I walked her to the table I had picked for my surprise and held her hand tighter as I followed her eye line to the table. "That's yours too."

"Santana… I-"

I took her other hand and looked at her ring finger tracing a line with my own.

"I bought it a while ago. Everyone told me it was made for you and that I was crazy for holding out for the girl who ran off without a trace and most of the time I thought they were right, but I kept it anyway and I pulled it out of the drawer this morning because it belongs to you, Quinn. I belong to you." I picked up the box and opened it in front of her.

"Oh my God, it's perfect." She practically squealed. I practically cried.

"You can say no if you think it's too soon and I will ask you again and again until you say yes. I know you're worried about moving in and this is obviously a much bigger step than that, but Quinn, this is right. You know it is. And I know other people are going to say that this is fast too, but you'd all be wrong because you and I should have done this a long time ago, Q. I promise you, there is nothing to be afraid of. I'd take an argument over the toothpaste cap with you any day of the week if it meant I got to spend my life with you."

"Santana, I love it. I love you. I can't believe this is happening right now. I know I let my brain run away sometimes. I can't tell you I'm not scared because I am but I know that this is what I want. It's what I've always wanted and I also know you. You will keep asking until I say yes and you'd do it in the kitchen as I pour coffee or while we're sitting on the couch watching TV and this way… this is just so much better than… I love you."

I smiled as she took the box in her hands and stared down at the ring.

"Is that a yes, baby?"

She looked up at me.

"You haven't asked me anything yet, baby."

"Still such a pain in the ass, Fabray."

"Ask me."

"Quinn Fabray, will you marry me?"

"Hell yes!" Her arms went around my neck and mine around her waist and I finally let go of the breath I'd been holding since our conversation last night.

I resisted the urge to tear off her clothes even though it had been a while and I pulled her back so I could actually get the ring on her finger.

"Still scared to move in with me?" I mocked as I slid it on her finger and it did look perfect.

"Don't push it, Santana."

"Just tell me you love me, Q."

"I love you."

"Good. Would you like to try the food from your restaurant?"

"Oh God, is Olivia cooking it?" She asked as she realized for the first time that this is the restaurant Olivia ran.

"No, she's not here and she's finding another job and I don't want to talk about her right now. I want to feed you and then get you home so I can do things to you."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." She kissed me and I realized for the first time that I was kissing my fiancé.


	28. Chapter 28

Santana's POV:

_About 6 Years Ago:_

"_It's Santana again. Can you please call me back? I've left like 10 messages already. I'm starting to get worried. I need to know where she is." I hung up the phone and stared down at it in my hand. I'd left about 500 messages for Quinn and at least 10 for her mom. I hadn't heard from either one since Quinn's graduation party. We woke up the next morning, said our goodbyes because I had to get back to the city, and that was two weeks ago. She had been weird. I thought I saw her tear up for a second before I drove off._

_My phone rang. My heart jumped, but it wasn't Quinn. It was Gillian._

"_Please stop calling me. I told you it's not going to happen."_

"_Santana, we went on one date and then you never called me back. What the hell did I do?"_

"_Nothing. I just don't want to date you." My call waiting clicked in my ear and I looked to see that it was Quinn's mom. "Gillian, I've got to go." I hung up on her and clicked over. "Hello?"_

"_Santana, you need to stop calling here."_

"_Where the hell is she? She's not calling me back."_

"_She's moving on with her life like you should be. If she wants to talk to you, she will call you."_

"_What is going on? She's my best friend. Did I do something? Why won't she talk to me?"_

"_How long have you been in love with my daughter, Santana?"_

_I was in momentary shock and thought about how to lie my way out of this one._

"_How long have you known?"  
"A while."_

"_I've loved her for a while then."_

"_She's not like you, Santana. She doesn't like girls." _

_I thought about telling her a little more about her daughter, but I didn't want to do that to Quinn even if she wasn't talking to me._

"_I just need to know where she is."_

"_She's fine. She's growing up. You should find someone else, Santana."_

"_That's not how it works. I can't just find someone else."_

"_Then, get your life together at least. Bouncing from job to job, taking classes on the side with no real focus…"_

"_I didn't call you to criticize my life choices."_

"_Let her get on with her life and you get on with yours." She hung up and I curled myself into a ball on my couch and cried._

Quinn's POV:

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Santana asked me.

We'd been engaged and living together for a month and I'd arranged this trip to Lima for us to tell my mother about… well, everything.

"She'll either support us or she won't."

"And you're okay if she goes with the latter?" She tightened her grip on my hand as we sat in the car in the driveway.

"Do you remember the last time we were here?"

She looked toward the house.

"Yeah, I was trying to convince myself that I wasn't taking you on a date because I had a girlfriend."

"And I was trying to pretend I was happy without you in my life."

"So, let's stop all that crap and be honest with your mom."

"Good thing we're staying at a hotel. At least she can't kick me out again."

She laughed at me and we both got out of the car and walked toward the house hand in hand.

I used my key to enter since she was expecting us and we walked toward the kitchen. I let go of her hand only because I wanted to lead up to telling my mom and not just drop it on her. She was standing in front of the stove mixing something in a pan.

"Hey, I didn't hear you come in." She put the spoon down and walked over to hug me. "Hello, Santana." She didn't hug her.

"Hi."

"I'm so glad you're here. Lunch is almost ready. Will you set the table for me?"

"Mom, can we just sit down for a second?"

I motioned to the kitchen table.

"Is everything okay?"

She walked to the chair and took a seat. Santana and I followed her lead.

"Everything's amazing. That's why we're here."

She looked at Santana and then she looked at me.

"What's going on, girls?"

"Mom, I love you and I know we've had our differences in the past and I know that I've made mistakes, but I've finally figured things out and made decisions that I'm really proud of and happy about."

"I'm glad, Quinn."

I paused and took a deep breath. This could be the moment that my mother tells me once again that I am no longer her daughter.

"Mom, I'm in love with Santana."

Her eyes shifted to Santana who looked more nervous than I'd ever seen her.

"Santana?"

"Yes ma'am?"

"Ma'am, you've never called me ma'am."

"As my best friend's mom you were scary. As my fian- my girlfriend's mom, you're slightly terrifying."

I smiled at her and took her hand. My mom happened to notice something shiny on my ring finger.

"Your girlfriend?"

"She's my fiancé, mom. We're engaged."

"Santana Lopez, do you love my daughter?"

"Yes ma'am."

"How long have you loved my daughter and you can't say for a while this time?"

"This time?" I asked for clarification.

"When she called after you went to London, I asked her how long she'd been in love with you. It was fairly obvious to everyone but you sweetie. She said for a while."

"You did?" I laughed at her and she still looked nervous.

"I didn't know where you were and I loved you. Do you know what that's like?"

"Santana, did you get your life together like I told you to do?"

"You told her to get her life together? Mom, what is wrong with you?"

"Yes, ma'am." Santana just answered her.

"And you'll make her happy?"

"Mom?"

"Yes, I will do anything to make her happy."

"Mom, what's happening here?"

"This is going to take some getting used too."

"I know," I replied and squeezed Santana's hand again for support.

"Quinn, are you gay?"

"Yeah, I think I am. I mean I've dated guys and I've dated girls, but yeah. I think I am."

"Have you always known?"

"No."

"Did I do something or should I have done something?"

"What? Mom, no. I don't really know how this works, but I know it's not like that. I love Santana. She's the only one I've ever really loved and that's all that matters to me and I'm kind of hoping that's all that matters to you."

Something started boiling over on the stove and she stood and ran to stop the mess. I looked at Santana who mouthed "I love you."

"Quinn, set the table and Santana, get the lemonade out of the refrigerator." We both stood immediately. "Oh and I want grandchildren and I want Thanksgiving and Christmas here at the house."

Santana and I exchanged glances and silent laughs.

"We'll talk about it, Mom."

"Grandchildren ladies. Plural."

I set the table and Santana got out the lemonade.

Quinn's POV:

_About 6 Years Ago:_

"_Quinn, Santana will not stop calling me. She's called at least 100 times. I finally told her to stop." My mom told me over the phone as I continued to unpack my old life so I could enjoy my new one._

"_I'm sorry. I'll call her soon."_

"_Honey, what did she do? Did she do something I should know about?"_

"_What? No. She didn't do anything. It's like I told you. I just need a break from things."_

"_And she's something you need a break from?" She asked me in a different, unreadable tone._

"_I need a break from everything and she's part of everything." I didn't mention that she is basically my everything._

"_Can I at least tell her where you are and what you're doing? She seems to be hurting, Quinn."_

"_Since when do you take Santana's side?" I asked a little on the defensive._

"_I'm not taking sides. You know how I feel about Santana."_

"_Yeah, I know. She likes girls, she parties all the time, she's not trying to make anything of herself… blah, blah, blah."_

"_If you want to find new friends for yourself, I am all for that Quinn. You can never talk to her again if that's what you really want. I just wanted to relay the message, but you've been upset since you left and maybe just talking to her to say a goodbye will help you. Maybe just telling her where you are and that you've got a new job will help her."_

_I can't tell her the reason I didn't say goodbye was because the thought of actually saying goodbye to Santana made me want to pretty much off myself, but the thought of sticking around and watching her find someone else to fall in love with also made me want to off myself. So, this leaving and starting over was the only alternative I could think of._

"_I will talk to her sometime. I just can't right now."_

"_Okay, well I've delivered the message. Can we talk about more exciting things now like your life in London? I want to know everything and I'm planning a visit for next month to help you get settled." Moms._

Quinn's POV:

"So, how are you feeling?" She asked me as we walked back to the car from my mom's house.

"Relieved. I think that's relief I'm feeling."

She smiled at me as we both got in.

"Me too. I think more than you. I was waiting for her to pull out a gun or a Bible. I wasn't really sure which. You Fabray women are unpredictable."

"Yeah, I guess we are. Good thing you like that in your woman."

She put the key in the ignition.

"Back to the hotel?"

We had booked a room since we weren't entirely sure how my mom was going to take the news and we leaned toward being prepared. We had decided to only stay the night and return to New York the next afternoon since I couldn't really miss this much work so soon after getting the job.

"Can we go somewhere else instead?"

"Sure. Where?"

Santana's POV:

"This is where you wanted to go?" I asked her as she took my hand and pulled me into a backyard.

"Yeah, come on. We haven't been here in forever."

She continued to pull me until we arrived. I looked up and saw that it was still there. Brittany's parents house was next door. We used to come over to her neighbor's backyard in high school because they had three boys and their father had built them a tree house. The three of us would sit in it some nights and talk.

"I can't believe it's still here. It's got to be like 15 years old by now." I looked up at the structure that looked a little run down and was missing part of the roof, but was otherwise okay. The ladder looked a little wobbly, but was still leaning against the tree.

"Let's go up."

"Q, we could die if we go up there. I just got your ass to agree to spend your life with me. I don't plan on that life lasting for only another 5 minutes."

She laughed and let go of my hand to start climbing. Every now and then, she acts like a total kid and it's a big change from the put together, mature girl I see most days. I pretended that it annoyed me, but I love when she's like this. I stood and held the ladder for her and once she was safely up, I took the ladder myself and we sat on the wooden floor together in the space that was only about 6x6.

"God, it feels the same." She looked around and up through the roof that was now basically a skylight.

"It seems smaller. Like a lot smaller and I know it's not because I've grown taller."

She smiled at me and put her arms out for me to slide into, which I did and rested my back against her front. I played with her fingers while she kissed my earlobe.

"By the way, if we ever get a place with a backyard, we are hiring someone to build one of these for our kids."

"Why can't we just build it ourselves, Q?"

"Because I don't want our kids to die in a tree house related accident. Neither of us is exactly handy, S."

I laughed before turning around and moving myself over.

"Oh, I'm handy. Just not in the way you're referring." There wasn't much room in this little house, but I figured there was just enough to make it work. She laughed as I leaned in to kiss her. I slid my hand up her thigh under her dress and held it there as she kissed me back and moved her arms around my neck.

"This isn't why I brought us here. What if someone sees us?"

"They'll get the show of their lives."

My hand moved over to her underwear, which I promptly pulled down as she just laughed at my determination and her hands moved to my plain, white dress that I had bought for the express purpose of our visit. I thought white and loose fitting would go over better with Q's mom than one of my red or black tight fitting dresses with killer heels. She pushed it up and I had to work some maneuvering magic to slide her fingers where I wanted them on my clit and I moved my hand to where I knew she'd want it and I felt how ready she already was for this.

"Baby, you're a liar. I think this is exactly why you brought me here." I announced as I dragged my fingers up and down before pushing them inside her and moving my hips.

"You caught me." She sighed as I pushed into her and I moaned as she did the same to me. "I think… we should go to all our old hang outs and do this in every… one of them."

"God, I love when you're unpredictable." I moved in to kiss her.

Quinn's POV:

_About 4 Years Ago:_

"_Quinn, what's the problem? I'm just asking you to meet my parents." Shane was sitting at the kitchen table while I was working on my laptop next to him. We'd been together for about three months before he started asking me to meet his family. It's now month five and I still haven't gone with him. He's an American over here in a grad school program and he's told his parents all about us and they want me to accompany him to his niece's baptism in Texas._

"_Shane, I have to work." I continued to type away on my keyboard while he drummed his fingers on the table._

"_You didn't have to work two months ago when I asked you to go back to meet them at my dad's birthday party."_

"_I know and I'm sorry, but I just wasn't ready to do the whole meet the parents thing. If I went to Texas, my mom would want me to visit Lima too and it would be this whole ordeal with her meeting you and-"_

"_What's so wrong with that?"_

"_Nothing. Nothing's wrong with it. I'm just not ready to do that yet."_

_He leaned in and started to shut the laptop so I'd pay attention to him. I removed my fingers from the keyboard as he slowly put it down._

"_When do you think you'll be ready? I'm moving home in a few months when I'm done with school and we need to at least start talking about what we're going to do then. I mean, I can try to find a job here, but I wasn't planning on staying in London permanently. Are you going to want to move to Texas with me or somewhere else if I find something in another state?"_

_I looked over at his face, which was imploring me to say yes to his request. His puppy dog brown eyes and that matching messy hair that he could get away with since he's only a student right now told me he loved me._

"_I don't know."_

"_There's a lot you don't seem to know recently. Where was all this five months ago when we got together? You seemed okay with the fact that I wasn't going to stay here then. You even said you'd consider living London."_

"_Because I do consider leaving here, but if I do move, I don't want it to just be because you're going somewhere. I want it to be because I want to be there too and there's just a lot up in the air right now and work has been crazy with this promotion…"_

_He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. _

"_If I stop bringing this stuff up, would you ever bring it up?"_

"_What?" I asked him as I tried to discern his meaning._

"_I'm always the one bringing this stuff up, Quinn. I want to introduce you to my family when I meet my new niece for the first time. I want my parents to love you like I do. I want to find somewhere we can live together instead of me always staying over here. I can barely get you to say I love you unless I say it first. You never bring it up. So, in a few months when it's time for me to leave, will we just end if I don't keep hounding you about this stuff?"_

"_Shane…"_

"_If this is just going to end in three months, will you just end it now so I can just know?"_

"_It's not like that. It's not like I intended to start something with you and end it before you left."_

"_Then, why did you start something with me?"_

"_Because I liked you. I wanted to be with you."_

"_I notice that was past tense."_

"_I do like you, but you want things I can't give you right now."_

"_Why not?" He leaned back in._

_I'd been thinking a lot about Santana recently. I'll go a long time with not really thinking about her and then something will happen and she's this ever present force again and I realize how much I still miss her and I consider just calling her to see how she's doing, but the moment I think that, I consider how much it would hurt if another girl picked up the phone. Then, I would know. A few weeks ago, I got a new member to my team at work and her last name is Lopez. Since then, another Lopez has been on my mind._

"_Because I don't see those things with you. I'm sorry."_

_We ended our five month relationship with a hug and as I closed the door literally and figuratively on that relationship, I took a look at the picture on the wall of Santana and I in my New Haven apartment._


	29. Chapter 29

Santana's POV:

After returning from telling Q's mom about us, we finally got around to scheduling our engagement party. We'd been putting it off until we could tell her so we could invite her to the party. We weren't sure she'd actually want to come, but given her surprising reaction to Q liking the ladies or more specifically liking one lady, we were pretty sure she'd be all up in our business until one of us is pregnant with triplets or until we adopt two kids from a couple of foreign countries.

We also wanted to wait until after Brittany had her baby so she could fly out for the party too. They named this one Leo because she was watching Titanic when her water broke. At least I can actually live with the name Leo. Her family stayed behind and it was kind of interesting watching her constantly check her phone for texts from her husband reporting that her kids were indeed still alive. I couldn't really fault her for that. This was her first time away from the baby and I also knew I'd be the same way with my kids.

"I cannot believe these two are actually doing this," Kurt told everyone as he held up his champagne glass and the whole room did the same. "Actually I can. I remember Santana telling me how madly in love she was with Quinn when we were in college."

Quinn, who was standing next to me with her arm around my waist, leaned in.

"You did?" She smiled.

I looked at her and kissed her nose.

"Why are you surprised?"

"I don't know. It's just weird thinking about it still. I loved you and you loved me and we told other people, but never each other."

She kissed me.

"Hey, I'm talking about you too. Pay attention," Kurt ordered and everyone laughed including us. "Anyway, these two have been through a lot together and they've been through a lot separately. They're finally just together and they go and get right on engaged. Sounds about right to me."

I just shook my head at him. I thought everyone would chastise us for getting engaged so quickly, but we actually just got a lot of 'it's about time,' type reactions, which I appreciated because I was a little scared I had jumped the gun, but it just felt so right. I had the ring. I finally had the girl. I had to ask.

"I'd like to say something if that's okay." Quinn moved her arm from around my waist and linked our hands together.  
"It's your party, girl." Kurt lifted his glass in her direction.

I didn't plan a speech. Was I supposed to plan a speech? Did Quinn plan a speech?

"In some ways this is all happening so fast. I moved to New York, Santana proposed, I found a new job, I told my mom about us." She looked to her mom and then back to me and smiled her beautiful smile. "In other ways, this has taken so long. I feel like I've loved this girl forever and we had to go through all this stuff to finally get here. She bought me a ring and it is perfect, which put all the pressure on me to find the perfect ring for her. I've been looking for a while now and I hope I finally found it. At least I know with Santana, she'll always tell me if she doesn't like something." Everyone laughed again and she pulled a small box out of the front pocket of her dress. I didn't know she was going to do this. "San, this is for you. I don't want you walking around this city with people thinking you're still available." She pulled back the lid and revealed two rings. I looked up at her a little confused. "The bottom one is the engagement ring. It has your birthstone on one side, the diamond in the middle and mine on the other. It represents the past and I guess a little of the present. I don't know. The jeweler explained it to me, but I was too busy staring at it to really pay attention." I laughed as did everyone else again. "The other one is the wedding ring. They go together and on the wedding one, our birthstones are mixed together to represent the future." She paused and tried to close the lid. "I know it's kind of lame and cheesy, but-"

I put my hand over her hand to pull the lid back up.

"It's perfect. It's beautiful, baby." I told her and kissed her as I took the box from her hand because I wanted that damn ring on my finger. I stopped to pull out the engagement ring and handed it to her. "Put it on me, Q." I demanded and she took it from me and slid it on my finger. She rubbed her fingers over it for a moment. "And leave it to you to buy the damn wedding ring too."

She looked at me and smiled.

"Always thinking about the future, baby."

"Oh my God, stop being so adorable you two," Blaine shared and toasted Kurt causing everyone else to clang their glasses together and I just wanted to kiss my girl.

"I love you." I told her.

"Love you back."

Quinn's POV:

_February 14__th__, About 9 Years Ago:_

"_We all should have known that a Valentine's Day wedding was just asking for a disaster. Love stinks," I said as Santana pulled me toward the bar._

"_Sorry ladies, can I see some ID?" The bartender asked._

"_I'm 25. Name's Rosario Cruz. I might be related to Penelope. You?"_

"_Emily Stark. Barely legal."_

_She laughed._

"_Well, that's good cause I hear your professors are into that. You know we always were two ends of the bitch/goddess spectrum. Maybe that's why we love each other so much… and slap each other."_

_I laughed deeply in agreement._

"_You know I have to say, Rosario, you are killing it in that dress." She did look extra hot tonight and I felt I should tell her for once and hope I wouldn't get a comment straight from her ego._

"_Thanks." She replied to me with a questioning stare before looking over at Brittany and Sam on the dance floor. "Look at those romantic saps. You know they may have love, but you know what we are that they are not?"_

"_Flawless." I answered her question and we clanged our glasses together and took a drink. _


	30. Chapter 30

Santana's POV:

"God, you're gorgeous." She told me as I took of my dress in the bedroom. She was sitting on the edge of the bed watching me.

"So is this ring this girl I know got me. You should probably talk to her, Q. I think she thinks we're like a thing or something." I took a step toward her in my strapless bra and matching panties. She put out her hand for me to take.

"I'll take care of her. I know a guy. It'll be a clean shot. Less mess that way."

I laughed at her as her arms went around my waist and her head rested against my stomach. I put my arms on her shoulders and brushed her hair back.

"Your mom seemed to enjoy herself tonight."

"Yeah, she enjoyed herself into a drunken stupor. Good thing she's staying here and can just sleep it off."

I leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm just glad she came, baby. It means she's on board with this and we don't have to worry about her praying for me to drive my car off a cliff or something so you can marry a nice, Christian boy."

She looked up at me with her serious eyes.

"She would never pray for that and don't say stuff like that, Santana."

"Okay. I'm sorry. Lay back, Q."

She released her arms and slid back on the bed. I pulled off her shoes and tossed them aside and lifted her body up a little so I could take off her dress too.

"By the way, Rachel suggested we get married on Valentine's Day."

"Rachel also suggested we serve only vegan entrees. Rachel is bat shit loco if she thinks I'm not having meat at my wedding."

She laughed and I slid on top of her and kissed her.

"San?"

"Mmmmm." I moaned a little as I moved to kiss her jaw and then her neck.

"My mom's in the next room."

"So?" I retorted.

"So, I can't have sex with my mom in the next room."

I sat back up and removed my bra.

"I'm pretty sure your mom knows we have sex and she is sleeping off the cheap box wine she brought to the party and then basically finished off, Quinn and today is our engagement celebration. We did the group thing. Now, I'd like a little private celebration."

I leaned back down and moved my hand to the inside of her thigh.

"Okay, but we have to be quiet."

"Mmmm, I like it when you're all demanding."

I smiled at her and moved my hand to cover her heart, which was one of my favorite things to do because I loved feeling it beat against my hand.

"Are you going to get all sappy on me, Lopez?" Her hands went to my cheeks and she pulled me down further to push our foreheads together.

"I was just thinking about how we used to make fun of people for feeling this way. We were all like, love is stupid and we're above it."

"And now we're engaged… to each other."

I laughed because when you put it all together like that it really does sound weird and also kind of perfect.

"Let's do it."

She moved her hands down to my hips and played with the elastic band and started pulling my underwear down.

"That's the idea, S."

"No, I mean let's do the Valentine's Day wedding thing. This Valentine's Day. I know in a little less than a year, but I warned you before I wanted to marry you soon."

Her hands stopped moving.

"You want to get married on Valentine's Day? Wait. I said that wrong. I should have said _you_ want to get married on Valentine's Day?"

I used my thumb to open her mouth and I kissed her gently at first and then more passionately when I felt her tongue touch mine and I felt her hands start moving again and my underwear pulling down my thighs. I sat back and pulled them all the way off and she pulled me down and flipped us so she was on top and she got herself naked faster than I'd ever seen her make that happen before.

"Let's take back Valentine's Day from the greeting card companies and the weddings that never happened. Let's make our old selves eat those words, Q."

"I don't know why, but this is seriously turning me on right now, Santana."

Her mouth moved to cover my nipple and she sucked on it while her hands went to my hips.

"Jesus, now I'm even more turned on."

She looked up at me and I met those hazel eyes that definitely conveyed to me that she was turned on.

"Our wedding colors will not be red and pink, San."

I laughed at her and watched as she moved her lips to my breastbone and then to my stomach.

"Beach, right?"

"What?" She asked as she kissed the inside of my thigh and my breathing was getting shallow and fast.

"You… wanted a beach wedding with no shoes…God." My hand moved to her head as she moved to the other thigh.

"I wanted you." Kiss. "I didn't really care when or where, but a beach does sound nice."

She moved her mouth over my clit and sucked until her tongue started pulsing against it.

"Okay, I want that too, but… I can't talk about… this right now. Fuck. That feels good."

She stopped and looked up at me.

"Maybe I'll do that Baby Got Back dance for you on our honeymoon." She laughed as she moved back down.

Santana's POV:

_February 14__th__, About 9 Years Ago:_

"_I've never danced with a girl before," Quinn shared into my ear. I pulled back to make eye contact. "I like it." Did I hear her right? She smiled at me and I smiled a confused smile back._

_This girl had been giving me strange signals all night and I have honestly never been so confused and I was also very turned on. We finished our dance and she pulled me off the floor toward the tables and she sat down and pulled me to the chair next to her._

"_What has gotten into you tonight, Fabray?" I asked her with a smile._

"_I don't know. Does it matter?"_

"_God no, I like you like this."_

"_You do, huh?"_

_I just smiled at her. I looked around at the room. Another song had started and people were again slow dancing. I thought about asking her to dance with me a second time, but then I felt her hand on my knee. I turned._

"_Take me upstairs." Her fingers danced across my skin as she leaned in._

"_What?!" I was understandingly surprised. This is Quinn._

"_I said it once, San. I won't say it again."_

"_Just to be clear here. When you say you want me to take you upstairs, you mean-"_

"_You know what I mean and this offer is on the table for the next 3 seconds. 3. 2-"_

_I pulled her by the arm and dragged her out of the room. This wedding is starting to turn around._


	31. Chapter 31

Santana's POV:

"So, be honest, Quinn… what's it like being engaged to Santana Lopez?" Kurt asked her as we sat in our apartment with Blaine, Rachel, and Brittany.

"Be careful, Q. I'm sitting right here." I motioned with my fingers toward my eyes and then toward her to let her know I was watching her. She had just returned from the kitchen where she had grabbed a new bottle of wine and laughed at me as she sat down.

"It's terrible. Obviously."

I laughed at her and her hand went to my knee. Even though it's been a couple of months now, it still gets me when I see that ring on her finger. I took her hand in mine and continued to stare down at it.

"You are whipped, Lopez." Kurt cracked up at his own words.

"She's not whipped. She's in love, Kurt." Blaine was always the better half of that couple in my opinion.

"No, she's whipped." Rachel sipped on her wine. "As someone who has seen her with girl after girl, I can definitely say that this is the first time I've ever seen her like this. Whipped." I squinted my eyes at her. "What? No clever retort about my size, my nose or my voice?"

"I think Quinn's actually managed to calm her the hell down." Kurt laughed and I finally looked up.

"You're all wrong," I stated.

"I know they're all wrong," Brittany confirmed what I had just said.

Quinn looked over at her.

"How do you know that, Brit?" Quinn asked her.

"Because I know Santana. This isn't Santana whipped. This is Santana happy."

Quinn looked over at me and I just shrugged my shoulders to confirm.

"Don't worry though Lady Hummel, I'll still burn your hideous clothes if I ever get a moment alone in your closet and Berry, you're still a wee little leprechaun who gets on my damn nerves on a daily basis."

"I think it's great. I mean, it definitely happened quickly, but I've always known I wanted to marry Kurt so I don't have any room to talk. We only waited because the timing was always off with work or with Kurt wanting Finn as a best man, but he was following Rachel around for her movie premieres and shows and then Kurt's dad got sick again and luckily got better. I would have married him in high school. Well, you guys know that already." Blaine smiled in Kurt's direction and Kurt smiled back and then leaned into his shoulder.

"So, Quinn answer the question. Honestly this time," Rachel demanded.

I looked over at her and she looked down for a moment before looking around at the group.

"When we finally started this thing, I remember being so scared that it wouldn't work because it never worked before. We were never honest with each other about how we felt and there were reasons for that, but still…" I squeezed her hand. "I thought about not saying anything to her about being scared that I wouldn't live up to her expectations, but then I remembered a promise I had made her to always talk to her. So I did."

"And you're still here?" Rachel queried and I glared over at her.

"I talked and she listened and she didn't push me away or shut down. She just talked to me." She looked over at me and I wasn't really sure where she was going with this. "I don't know what it would have been like if we would have gotten engaged years ago. I loved her then. So much, but I don't know if we were ready."

"And now?" I asked her.

"When you asked me, there was a second when I thought you were crazy and then that feeling went away and I realized we were ready now. We could date for a year and then move in and then get engaged and be married by the time we're like 31 or 32 and then do the kids thing after that, but I want all that now."

I smiled at her.

"Aww!" Brittany cooed.

I was glad Brittany was in town to choreograph a music video because I so rarely get to see her. It was like Quinn somehow managed to bring Brittany back into my life too and I remembered why we all worked as friends, most of the time, in the first place.

"Santana?"

"Huh?" I asked Blaine.

"What's it like being engaged to Quinn?"

I thought about how best to answer this question. I could do the monologue thing like Q, but let's be honest. I'm not really good at expressing those things to people other than her.

"It's the best decision I ever made."

"Aww!" That came from everyone including Quinn, who then put her head on my shoulder and I nudged her in the side for joining in their mockery.

"There's a fun topic of conversation for this group. What's the worst decision you ever made?" Kurt asked.

"That's easy for me," Blaine raised his hand as he spoke. "Cheating on Kurt in high school."

"Damn right." Kurt admonished.

Quinn's POV:

"Brittany's going to bed." I walked out onto the balcony and moved behind Santana who was looking out at the night skyline.

"I'm glad she's here." Her arms went over mine as I wrapped them around her waist.

"Me too. It's like the old gang is back together."

"Yeah, the old dysfunctional gang."

I laughed at her and moved my head to her shoulder.

"You okay?" I asked her noting her silence for most of the night.

"Yeah, I'm all good." She turned her face a little into mine so I moved back so she could turn around all the way in my arms.

"San…?"

"Quinn…?"

"What's going on?"

"I just miss you, that's all."

"Miss me? I'm right here."

"I've been busy with work a lot lately with the restaurant opening and I've been in the office late most nights and your new job has you working long hours too. I've just missed you and it was nice having everyone over tonight, but it's pretty much your only free night this week and I was kind of hoping it would just be the two of us." She kissed my nose.

"Oh baby, I'm sorry. Brittany said she was staying in a hotel, which I thought was stupid so I told her to stay here and she wanted to see Blaine and Kurt and Rachel felt left out because Finn's in New Jersey for work. I should have asked if it was okay."

"It is okay. Like I said, I'm glad they came over. I just miss when it's just you and me, Q." She rested her forehead against mine and her hands went to my sides. "Everything that's happened since you've been here has been amazing. Your new job, us finally doing this thing, the engagement, your mom accepting it, our friends only acting like asses some of the time instead of all of the time, it's been great, but I forget sometimes how much I missed you while you were gone and I just want time with you that we really haven't had since you've been here."

I moved so I could peck her lips.

"I love that you're only this way with me."

"What?" She laughed her confusion.

"You don't talk like this with anyone else. It's just me."

"That's kind of the idea of this you and me being all meant to be together thing."

I smiled and kissed her again gently.

"Tomorrow night, Brittany will be headed back to L.A. I will be here and you will be here and I will take you out on a date."

"A date, huh?"

"Yes. I'll tell my boss I'm not staying late and you will come home early and we will get all dressed up and we'll go somewhere."

"We could go to the restaurant."

"I want to go somewhere new. We've spent a lot of time remembering the past, San and reliving and trying to do the things we didn't do back then, but I want us to do new things too."

"New things?" She wiggled her eyebrows at me.

"Leave it to you to make my romantic gesture dirty."

"Who do you think you're marrying, Q?"

I took a step back.

"I kind of like when you use your dirty mind."

"God, clean it up, Quinn. We're trying to talk about this romantic evening we're going to have."

"Your sarcasm never gets old, Lopez."

She smiled and leaned in to hug me.

"It's a date, baby."

"Good and I miss you too, ya know?"

"I know. Who wouldn't miss this? Now, if you're done being all Nicholas Sparks or whatever, let's go to bed. I'm tired from entertaining that ragtag group of misfit toys you brought over earlier."

She pushed me backwards through the door and we saw Brittany coming out of the bathroom as we entered the living room.

"If you guys are going to have sex right now, can you keep it down? I'm going to Skype with Harry and Mary's going to be there and I don't want her to hear Santana's sex sounds through the wall."

"Britt!" Santana exclaimed.

"What? Is Quinn louder?"

"Oh my God, Brittany! We're going to bed… to sleep."

I pulled Santana along and we both laughed and I silently thought about how awkward that moment was before I just realized I didn't care about their past. I only cared that I was Santana's present and future.


	32. Chapter 32

Santana's POV:

Quinn wouldn't tell me where we were going. She said something about wanting to be able to surprise me for a change. I figured I'd let her have her fun if it meant we got to spend the night alone together for the first time in a long time since we'd started dating/gotten engaged.

"We're here."

The car pulled over and double-parked so we could get out and as we did I looked around at the line of people around the building.

"You're taking me to a concert?" I asked her when I figured out we were at the Bowery.

"Sort of. I know you work in music and could probably make this all happen yourself, but I wanted to work some magic for you for once."

"Magic?"

"We did some marketing for this guy who books artists." She took my hand and we walked toward the door.

"Quinn, the line's back there."

"We're VIP, baby." She ushered us toward the bouncer and gave our names. He let us in and she continued to walk me toward the backstage area. "Anyway, this guy did me a favor. Of course, I think I have to sleep with him now, but you're okay with that, right?"

I tugged on her sweater to pull her back to me.

"Not even remotely and where are you taking me?"

"To your dressing room, San. You're the opening act."

It took me a second to take it all in.

"I'm performing?"

"Yeah, the opening act canceled yesterday and when he told me about it, I thought about seeing if you wanted to fill in. I know you've been writing you own stuff lately that I'm not supposed to know about because you're a perfectionist and you never think you're done, but when you said you wanted a date night and we made it tonight, I made a call to see if this could happen."

We stood in front of a door that had my name on a piece of paper. She opened it and we walked in.

"Quinn, I don't have anything prepared. I don't have-"

She leaned in and kissed me. I pulled her in and kissed her back because this was the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for me. I hadn't performed since before the reunion. I was heartbroken over her and felt terrible for what I put Olivia through and then when Quinn and I actually got together, I wanted to spend all my time with her or talking about what we would do when she got here or planning our wedding. We pulled back and she moved my hair behind my ear.

"What happened to my fiery, confident Latina?"

"She's a little freaked out right now."

She looked at me with eyes that told me she was concerned.

"Baby, you don't have too. I can tell them you are feeling well or something."

I thought about how nervous I was to perform here, but then I remembered that I'd dreamed about performing here and that I was Santana Lopez. I could do this if Quinn thought I could do this. It's amazing how it feels to have someone believe in you.

"No, I want to do this. I'll just do some covers."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Thank you. This is amazing, Quinn."

About an hour later, I was standing off stage waiting for someone to announce that I was up. I had a three song set that Quinn helped me put together and I had talked with the band beforehand to make sure they wouldn't make me sound bad. I heard my name and took a deep breath. I felt Quinn's arms move around my waist.

"I love you," she whispered that to me as the music started to build. She kissed my cheek and removed her arms. I turned to face her.

"I love you." I walked backwards for a couple of steps before turning around to take the stage.

Quinn's POV:

As she wrapped up her third amazing song, it dawned on me that I had never seen her perform as her girlfriend or in this case her fiancé before. I listened as the room filled with applause for her and I smiled and laughed and smiled again as she walked off stage and practically jumped into my arms. I hugged her back and we somewhat spun around for a second and I couldn't think of a moment in my life when I had been happier.

"You were amazing!"

She pulled back, but left her hands at my sides.

"I love you."

"I love you and you were amazing." I leaned in to kiss her and I heard something coming from the crowd. It began to build. "Baby, I think they saying encore."

She turned back and noticed the house guitarist motioning for her to return to the stage.

"I guess I gotta go, baby." She kissed me lightly and ran back toward the stage stopping to walk once she was visible to the crowd. Knowing her, she didn't want to appear too eager.

Santana's POV:

God, that felt good. I missed hearing the applause after I belt out a note. And Quinn was right. I could have probably arranged this for myself years ago, but there was something about her doing it for me that just made it better.

"So, have I created a monster?" She asked me as I pulled her into the car. I'm lucky I'm short because I could actually straddle her in the backseat as the driver took off and started moving us through the city.

"I cannot believe you did that for me, Q." I leaned in and kissed her and picked up her hands to move them around me.

"I'd do anything for you. You know that. Plus, that was really for me too. I wanted to see you do that again and I wanted to be the one you did this with after." She leaned up and kissed me and my lips detached momentarily to tell the driver to take us home. "San, I made reservations for us."

"I love that you did that, Q, but I want to take you home." I leaned in to whisper so the driver wouldn't hear. "I want you for dinner tonight."

About 20 minutes later, I was pushing her through the front door without detaching our lips. The truth was that no matter how we did it, I loved sex with Quinn, but since the engagement most of our encounters have been slow and loving and yes they were amazing, but I wanted to finally…

"Fuck Santana!" I pressed her back against the front door and started moving my hand down lower to cup her over her underwear. "So glad, we canceled those reservations."

"It took everything in me not to just fuck you in that car even though the driver would have seen everything." I pushed my hand a little harder into her. "Take this fucking dress off, Q."

"Step back," she ordered in that hot voice of hers, but I didn't move. "Step back, Santana." I released my hold reluctantly and she walked toward the kitchen table with me walking backwards in front of her until I ran into the thing. "Remember the last time I had you against a table?" She smirked and I noticed her hand move to her side where she began slowly pulling her zipper down. I followed her hands as they lifted the straps off her shoulders and slid the dress seductively down her body until she was just standing there braless and my pupils dilated.

"I remember that night very well. I replay it over and over and over and…"

She stepped toward me and her arms went around my back. I went to move my arms to her body.

"Nope."

"Nope?"

"Just stand still, baby."

"Quinn, I'm seriously already about to come right now. I want to touch you like everywhere."

She smiled and pulled my dress off my body kneeling on the floor.

"You will, but I want you first. You were seriously turning me on when you were on that stage, Lopez. God baby, you're so wet right now." She moved her teeth to my panties, which she then pulled down and she grazed my sensitive skin as she did.

"Oh fuck, that felt good."

Her hands moved them off the rest of the way and I couldn't wait for her to remove my bra, so I just pulled it off myself and threw it somewhere behind the table.

"I think I should start down here." She moved her mouth to my thigh and nipped at it with those teeth.

"Baby, I love you, but if you're not inside me in 3 seconds, I'm going to throw your ass on this table and…" She forced my legs apart and I sat on the table. She stepped into me roughly and shoved her fingers inside me just like I wanted her too. "Finally!"

Her other hand pushed my body flush against the table and she pushed my knees back so I would move backwards more so she could climb on top of me this time.

"I think we're going to need a new table after this," she huffed into my ear and she pushed and pushed deeper with two and then three of her slender fingers. "I plan on breaking it."

"Harder, baby." She used her hips and moved faster and those fingers reached further and further until they hit just where I needed them to hit. "Hell, yes. Right there."

"I love it when we do it like this."

'God Quinn, you're so… I love it when you're like… when you're like this. This feels so…"

"If you come for me right now," she whispered. "I _might_ let you do things to me." She started pushing faster and her fingers curled inside me.

"Might?" I met her eyes and she smirked again. I loved this confident side of her.

"Yeah, I might…" I pulled her face down so I could kiss her. It was sloppy at best, but it matched the moment.

"Fuck!" I came all over her fingers, which she removed quickly and she saw my disappointed face until she sucked those fingers into her mouth and I was less disappointed. I stood immediately not wanting to waste any time and I engulfed her in my arms. We stumbled backwards into the painting on the wall and I slid down her body with the intention of using my mouth, but then I changed my mind about our position. I pulled her arms down so she was kneeling with me.

"I said I might let you do things." She laughed at me as I lay down in front of her.

"Q, get your ass over here. You're so fucking hot right now." She moved from her kneeling position to straddle me, but I made her keep moving up until she was right above my face.

"Mmmmm… That feels good." Her hips started moving forward and back as my tongue went inside her and my hands went to her ass. Her hands went to the floor to try to hold herself up. It didn't take long until her hips started moving faster so I matched her pace loving the feeling of doing this to her and hearing her sounds that may actually be louder than mine. "Oh God, I'm coming! Jesus!"

I stayed in my position, but slowed my pace as did she until I felt her tremors stop altogether and she moved backwards while I swiped my tongue across my lips.

"We're doing that again," I told her when she resumed her straddling position and started moving those hips into me. "Right now, apparently." I sat up a little to hold her hips in place and just the feeling of her moving like that against me had me getting hot all over again.

"Please, we're doing this all night, Santana." She leaned down and kissed me.

Yeah, I'm the luckiest girl in the world.


	33. Chapter 33

Quinn's POV:

We both called in sick to work the morning after San's performance. We needed time to recover from our all night sexathon that took place on just about every surface of our apartment. I had made us both breakfast and made her stay in bed because I knew if she helped me in the kitchen, we'd never actually eat breakfast.

We ate in bed and she found me in the kitchen when I was putting the dishes in the sink and her hands started working again as I stood against the counter. My entire body was sore, but in the best way possible.

We took a break to lie on the couch and watch TV when Santana's phone rang. It was work so she just ignored it and returned to sliding her fingers up and down the inside of my thigh as I lay across her lap.

"Hey, I was thinking about something earlier and I wanted to run it by you." She moved the arm that was on my leg to the back of the couch so she could more easily face me and used her other hand instead on my thigh.

"What?" I asked with my eyes closed.

"I think I want to record an album."

My eyes shot open and I smiled.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Baby, that's great."

"Is it? I mean we've got a lot going on right now and I don't even know if anything will come of it."

I sat up and glared at her.

"Santana Lopez, what have you always told me you wanted?"

"Quinn-"

"You've wanted this forever and I know you're good at your job baby, but you are wasting your talent repping other artists when you are an artist."

"I kind of love you a little bit right now."

I leaned in and pulled her so she was back on top of me.

"You love me a lot all the time for starters and I am so proud of you, San."

"I haven't done anything yet." She kissed my collarbone.

"You've taken the first step in admitting you have a problem."

She laughed a deep laugh in my ear.

"What? What problem do I have exactly, Q?"

"Avoiding your destiny, baby. You know you were made for the stage. I think it's about time you shift your career focus."

She sat up and my hands went to her hips while my eyes went a little further north.

"I was thinking about maybe an acoustic EP or something like that just to get started and I want to do originals, but maybe throw in a cover too."

I laughed and my hands shifted to where my eyes were staring and I cupped her breasts and massaged them until she looked down and lifted her eyebrow at me.

"It seems like you've been thinking about this a lot."

"It seems like you get seriously turned on when I talk about this stuff." She shifted back a little and her hand went between my legs and she felt the wetness that had started to build. I shuddered. "Feels like it too."

Santana's POV:

Quinn and I had begun planning our wedding, which we both wanted to be low-key so it wasn't a stressful process. We just wanted to enjoy our day and not worry about everything. We were walking through the city making our way from bakery to bakery to try to find the right cake. This was the first thing we wanted to pick out. I think it's because we just wanted to go around tasting cake everywhere. We had already been to two places and sampled pretty much a whole cake together, but they didn't have what we wanted so we were on our way to our third when I spotted someone I recognized.

"Oli?" She was dressed in a chef's jacket and standing outside a restaurant talking to a table of guests. She looked up at her name being called and she smiled at me.

Quinn and I walked toward the restaurant door as she made her way in that direction too.

"Hey, San." She looked at me and then to Q. "Nice to see you, Quinn." It wasn't the passive aggressive angry greeting that I expected.

"You work here now?" I asked her. When she left the restaurant, she told me she hadn't found anything yet, but that she needed to get away. I hadn't heard from her since.

"Yeah, culinary school was done and they needed a new pastry chef so I applied."

"That's great, Oli. Congratulations." I smiled at her and Quinn shifted her purse to pull out her ringing phone.

"Sorry, I'll ignore it." She pulled it out and hit ignore and returned it, but that movement gave Olivia full view of her ring.

"Looks like congratulations are in order for you two as well."

"Oh yeah." I didn't really know how to handle this situation.

"I'm happy for you two." She smiled and it seemed genuine.

"Thank you," Quinn added.

"How are you, Oli?" I asked her hoping she was happy after all I had put her through.

"I'm good. I like it here. I found a new apartment that's only a couple of blocks away and the building has its own drug dealer so if I ever decide to take up meth, I'm all set." Quinn and I both laughed at her and I rolled my eyes. "Seriously though, I'm good."

"I'm glad."

"San, why don't I go ahead and give you two some time to catch up?" Quinn offered.

"You don't have to go, baby."

Olivia's head went down a little and I realized calling Quinn baby in front of the girl I used to call baby wasn't the best idea.

"No, it's okay. You guys talk and you just meet me there."

She kissed my cheek and walked off toward the bakery that was a few blocks away.

"You know, I am happy for you guys, right? I want you to be happy, San."

"I know and I want that for you too."

"I am. Don't get me wrong. I liked working at your restaurant, but I think the reason I stayed for so long was because of you and I needed to do this for myself."

"I'm proud of you, Oli. I know how much you wanted this."

"I actually started dating someone."

My ears perked up at that.

"Really?"

"Yeah, after you and I broke up, my brother gave me like a month before he started trying to set me up with girls. I finally just gave in and we've been on a few dates now."

"That's great."

"It's nothing serious, but I like her. Her name's Morgan. She runs a non-profit."

"Well, I'd say you traded up then." I winked at her.

She smiled at me for a second and I felt something shift between us.

"Look, I'm still not ready for the whole best friends forever thing with you yet, but I am moving on. Slowly, but it's happening. If you two don't find a cake you like though, maybe I can make one for you."

I squinted my eyes at her trying to figure out what to say to this. Having my ex design my wedding cake didn't seem like the best idea in the world.

"Would you really want to do that? It seems a little weird, Oli. I mean I love that you offered, but-"

"I didn't say I wanted to be your maid of honor, Santana. I can bake you a damn cake."

I laughed at her.

"I'll have to run it by Q."

"Tell her not to worry. I don't want you back… like at all. It's been nice sleeping without a snore machine since we broke up."

"I do not snore."

"Oh yeah, you do. Especially when you've been drinking. It's like a foghorn. Quinn probably hasn't mentioned it because you're still in that new relationship bubble."

We shared another laugh and I hugged her goodbye when she told me she had to return to work. I don't think we're going to take her up on her offer. Quinn probably won't mind Oli making our cake, but it doesn't seem fair to Olivia and I've done enough unfair things to her already. I am kind of hoping though that we can eventually be friends and that Morgan ends up being Olivia's own personal Quinn Fabray. She deserves to find her one too.


	34. Chapter 34

Santana's POV:

"This feels weird," I told Quinn as we sat on the couch eating Chinese out of the carton and passing those cartons back and forth.

"What feels weird?"

"We're done planning our wedding. We're finally done."

She laughed a little and stuck her chopsticks into my carton to pull out the shrimp she always stole.

"Well, that's kind of important considering it's right around the corner, San."

"You're not going to pull a runaway bride on me are you, Lucy Q?"

"Absolutely. Why do you think I want to be barefoot?"

"Don't mock woman. These things happen. They've happened with us. You ran off before."

She rolled her eyes.

"Not at our wedding, Santana and if you remember correctly, back then you were kind of playing hard to get. Well, with me you were playing hard to get. With every other girl in the world, you were easy."

I shook my head at her.  
"Speaking of that, I do not like the idea of this bachelorette party Berry's throwing you."

"It was supposed to be for us. You told her you didn't want to go to any party she throws."

"Is she taking you to a strip club or hiring you a stripper or taking you to Atlantic City to participate _Hangover_ style activities?" She laughed at me and took a drink of her water. "Seriously Q, I don't want to get a call in the middle of the night from Rachel telling me she doesn't know where you are or that you may or may not be missing a tooth."

"This is a Rachel Berry party. I don't think it's going to get rowdy."

"I don't know. Remember that party she threw in high school? She made out with Blaine."

She put her carton down on the table and patted her lap. I set my carton down and moved to straddle her.

"We're going to dinner and then she's taking us to this club she knows. She's rented a room in the back for us and I want you to be there, baby. That way if she did hire a stripper, you could keep her away from me."

"I don't want anybody's hands on your body… ever."

I pulled her in closer.

"Why would I want anyone else's hands on me when I have yours?"

Quinn's POV:

I used sex to convince Santana to come to the party. I had a feeling I'd be doing that a lot in this relationship, but I had no problem with it. Brittany returned to town to join us and so did Tina who was still a little thrown off by San and I together, but I think that's just because we lost touch when San and I went to college and that's when it all happened. Everyone else got to at least see how we were back then even though we weren't together. So Rachel, Tina, Brittany, San & I went to dinner with a couple of friends from my office and a few from Santana's. Kurt and Blaine joined us at the club after the dinner because Kurt had an event to attend earlier.

The club was busy so I was glad when we were escorted to our private room where we could all sit down and talk without the music blaring in our ears.

"Are you guys freaking out yet?" Tina asked us. "I was freaking out the week before my wedding." She took a drink of her champagne.

"I'm good. What about you?" I asked San.

"I'm more nervous about my album release next month than I am about my wedding."

"Santana!" Rachel admonished.  
"What Berry?"

"Your album shouldn't be more important than your wedding."

"Berry you are the president of the itty-bitty annoying committee." Quinn's arm had been around me on the back of the sofa that lined the wall, but it moved to my neck to brush my hair back. "I'm more nervous about my album because I don't know if it's going to work out. I already know Q and I will work out."

"I know your album will work out, baby."

"I've listened to a couple of songs, Santana. It's good." Kurt took a sip of his umbrella drink.

Rachel stood up to go meet with the owner of the club who had motioned for her toward the private bar. Santana stood.

"I'll be right back."

"Okay."

I didn't know where she was going, but she was headed in Rachel's direction.

Santana's POV:  
"Berry, wait up." I ordered.

Rachel stopped and turned around.

"I've got to go pay the guy, Santana."

I looked down at my feet.

"I just wanted to thank you."

I looked up to see her face was one of surprise.

"Thank me?"

"For tonight. You really went all out for Quinn and I and I wanted to thank you."

"I feel like there's a but coming."

"I know I'm mean to you most of the time, but you know how I am and you know if I didn't want to hang out with you, I wouldn't. Not that I want to hang out with you all the time. Don't start coming over every night or anything. Q and I like to get our naked on and I don't want you peeping."

She laughed.  
"You're welcome, Santana."

I rolled my eyes.

"Okay well if we're done with this moment we're having now, I'm going to return to my girl."

I turned and walked away while Rachel walked to meet with the owner. I sat down next to Quinn and took her hand.

"What was that all about?" She asked me.

"Just needed to take care of something."

"Should I be worried?"

"No, baby. You've got nothing to worry about. Now, let's go out there so you can dance up on me."

I pulled her up and everyone followed us to the dance floor.

Quinn's POV:

"I am exhausted. Rachel actually gave us the party we wanted tonight. No frills. Just friends hanging out together. She even remembered not to sing."

She laughed at me and sat down next to me on the bed. She had a small wrapped box in her hand.

"I have something for you."

"I can see that. What's it for?"

"It's your wedding present."

I looked down at the bow I knew she probably spent an hour trying to get perfect.

"You're not supposed to give that to me until the wedding."

"I'm a rebel. Open it, Quinn."

"Fine, but I'm going to give you your gift too then."

"Does it involve you being naked?" I laughed as I stood and walked over to the dresser. I pulled out an envelope and walked back over to the bed. I handed it to her and she looked a little confused by the flatness of her gift. "Are they naked pictures?"

"Open it."

She slid her finger inside and pulled out two cards and a folded piece of paper.

"Explain, Fabray."

"Those are two membership cards to the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society."

"What?" She was definitely confused now.

"Remember that museum of modesty we talked about? It still doesn't exist, but I thought a trip to Amish country might do you some good. I mean who's more modest than the Mennonites?" I winked at her.

"That is hilarious."

"I thought you'd like that."

"Now, open yours."

"You're not done yet. Open that." I pointed to the old, folded piece of paper she must have disregarded as a part of the museum stuff.

"There's more?" She opened the paper and looked down at it. "Baby…"

"I thought it could be your something old."

"When did you write this?"

"Right after I left. I missed you, but I couldn't talk to you because it was too hard and I was scared. So, I wrote you a letter that I thought about sending, but never did. I kept it and I was going to give it to you on our wedding day, but you are too damn impatient."

Her eyes didn't move from the letter and I'm not sure she even heard what I said. When she was finished reading, she looked up at me and smiled.

"I love you. This is beautiful. It's sad to think about you writing this, Quinn."

"It doesn't matter anymore."

"I love you, Q."

"I love you."

"Open mine now."

I could tell what it was before I opened it. It felt like a CD and that was confirmed when I peeled back the paper.

"It's your CD."

"Yeah, you get the first copy, but open it up and look in the liner notes."

I opened the cover, which had a picture of a thoughtful looking Santana on the cover. I pulled out the insert and opened it to the first page to the dedication.

"San…"

"I mean every word. Maybe it can be your something new."

I read the dedication over again.

I have dreamed of two things in my life, making music and finding love (never told anyone about that last one). This album is dedicated to the woman who inspired me to do both of those things. Quinn Fabray, I love you more than anything. I love you more than the words in these songs I wrote for you can express. I cannot wait to marry you and grow old with you. Thank you for coming back to me and never leave me again because I don't think I can live without you.

"It's perfect, San." I leaned in and kissed her while I wiped a tear from my cheek.

Quinn's POV:

_About 6 Years Ago:_

_Santana,_

_I'm sitting at my desk not working because I cannot stop thinking about you. I don't know if I will ever have the courage to send this to you because the thought of you seeing this and tossing it in the trash kills me._

_I love you, Santana Lopez. I love you so much that I had to move to London to get away from you because seeing you with other girls tears my heart into pieces. You're the most beautiful, amazing person I've ever met and I love all of you. I even love the parts of you I don't understand. I know you don't think you deserve things in your life, but you do. You deserve to have everything you want and I hope that you get it. I hope that you follow your dream to make music and that if you do I am there because I've finally worked up enough courage to return to you. I love your heart that you so rarely show other people and I love that you are spontaneous and that you love life. I know we're only 22 and that we've been best friends forever and that we're apart now and that you also probably hate me, but I love you and I will always love you. I fall asleep every night thinking about how much I want you. I wake up every morning thinking about how much I want you. Maybe one day, I will be brave and I will tell you these things or I will give you this letter. Maybe one day… _

_I love you,_

_Quinn_


	35. Chapter 35

Santana's POV:

I watched as Quinn moved from person to person at our rehearsal dinner. She shook hands and gave hugs and talked to my mom for what seemed like a long time. I don't think there's anything to worry about there. My mom's just probably reiterating the fact that she, like Quinn's mom, wants several grandchildren. It wouldn't surprise me if she has sperm donor bios or a list of adoption agencies in her purse right now. I was standing at the bar getting Quinn another glass of wine from the slowest bartender in the world. I'm starting to have bartending flashbacks and I'm tempted to just jump back there and take over. Seriously, I ordered a rum and coke. It's two ingredients.

The plan was to have this party outside, but the weather did not cooperate so we moved it inside the country club. I don't have a problem with the backdrop of this party being a little gloomy if that means the rain moves itself along by tomorrow afternoon.

"She's beautiful when she's happy," Judy offered while setting her empty wine glass on the bar for the bartender to refill.

"She's beautiful all the time." I turned around so I could grab Quinn's wine that had finally been filled.

"Are you getting nervous yet?"

"People keep asking me that and I don't know, maybe I'll be nervous tomorrow, but right now I'm okay."

"That's good. Now, before I have another glass of wine, I have to confess something to you Santana and I hope you can forgive me."

I turned to look at her.

"What?"

"When you and Quinn met in high school, I thought you were going to be a horrible influence on her."

"Oh, I kind of already knew that."

"That's not the confession part." She took her wine off the bar and turned to face where Quinn was making her way around the room. I turned with her. "I wasn't exactly mom of the year when I found out about Beth. I tried to make it up to her after and I'm still trying to prove that I won't ever put her through something like that again. When the two of you got even closer in college, I thought she was…"

"You thought we were sleeping together?"

"Or that you were on your way to that. She dated a lot in high school and then a little in college and then not at all there toward the end and she was spending more and more time with you and you two seemed to have gotten so close. I could tell how you felt about her because of how you looked at her and I started to notice her looking at you the same way and I got nervous."

"It's okay. I understand. I didn't deserve her then and I'm still not sure I deserve her now."

"I'm her mother, Santana. So, in my mind, no one deserves my daughter, but if anyone on earth actually does, it would be you."

That surprised me. I had turned to grab my drink, but stopped shy to make sure she wasn't joking with me.

"What changed?"

"She left and she didn't tell you. I talked to her every week on the phone and I visited her in London and she'd come home once a year for Christmas. She never brought anyone home with her. She never even talked about dating anyone. Even when she had a boyfriend for a few months, she'd just casually mention him or only briefly talk about a date they went on and I could hear sadness in her voice instead of happiness. So, here's the confession part."

"Okay."

"I knew you loved her and I knew she loved you and I didn't say anything. I let her go on being disappointed and didn't tell her anything about you even when she asked. She'd ask how you were and I'd just say I didn't know. I'd see your mom at the grocery store from time to time and she'd tell me about you in New York and I heard about how well you were doing and I still didn't tell Quinn. I just kept telling myself that it was for the best. She would find someone else. But then I saw your mom at the church festival and she mentioned you had a serous girlfriend and I remembered the sadness that was always present in Quinn's voice even when she was delivering good news."

"My mom told you about Olivia?"

"She did. She said you had been together for a while and that she was waiting for the call from you saying you were engaged and I realized I was doing something terrible. I had to at least do something."

"What did you do?" She took a drink of her wine.

"Who do you think convinced Quinn to go to that reunion?"

I smiled at her.

"You did that?"

"Quinn's mail from the school still comes to my house since she never gave them a forwarding address. I saw the invite and hung onto it for a while. Then, I got hurt and Quinn came to help and I called your mom to see if you were going to be there and she said you were. I had to work on Quinn, but she eventually gave in to her mother's nagging." She looked me in the eye. "That's a skill you'll want to pick up, by the way, mother nagging goes a long way with your kids." She turned to face Quinn again who was making her way toward the bar. "I had no idea what would happen between you two when you finally saw each other again. I just needed to try to make it up to her and to you as well and I am glad you two ended up here."

"Thanks."

"Don't screw it up, Santana."

"And there's the Judy I know and love."

She winked at me and took her glass as she walked away.

"Hey baby," Quinn greeted and noted with her glance her mother's exit. "What was that all about?"

"I just really like your mom."

"You do? Since when?"

She took her glass from my hand and took a sip.

"Since right about now. How's it going out there?"

"Fine. Oh, I got a text from Carrie earlier. She says congrats to both of us and that she sent us a painting from the gallery she thought we'd like. Well, she thought I'd like it. She doesn't really know what you like."

"That's okay. You know what I like." I winked at her. "Hey Q?"

"Yeah."

"What was it that made you decide to go to the reunion?"

"That's random." She took another drink.

"Not really. It's kind of how we got here."

"Yeah, I guess it is. My mom talked me into it. I told you that. She said I'd been gone long enough and that I should check in with people I hadn't seen or heard from in years. I even asked her if you were going to be there because I wasn't sure I could handle seeing you. She told me that you probably wouldn't be there because you still lived in New York, but that if you were, it was about time we talk. She sounded weird, but I gave in after she wouldn't stop talking about it. She got seriously annoying."

I smiled at her and looked across the room at our moms who were now talking. Judy turned enough to make eye contact and I just nodded a silent thank you.

Quinn's POV:

_About Two Days Before the Reunion:_

"_Mom, I don't want to go. Why is this so damn important to you?" I asked her while elevating her leg on the couch._

"_It's not important to me, Quinn. It's your 10 year reunion. You only get one of those."_

"_And I don't want to go."_

"_Why not? You're successful. You live in a foreign country. You have a lot to brag about."_

"_It's not about that. I just don't- I just don't want to go."_

"_Quinn, some of these people were your friends and you haven't talked to them in years. Some of them still call me to find out where you are and I'm about done keeping your secret that shouldn't be your secret. Every time I run into one of your friend's parents, they ask me about you. Because I don't want to make you upset, I still tell them you're doing fine and that you have a great job, but I leave it at that. They're starting to think you're in the CIA with all this cloak and dagger nonsense."_

_I laughed at her and sat down in the chair._

"_I know. I'm sorry."_

"_You're 28 years old, Quinn. I think it's time you start taking care of these things you're holding onto for whatever reason so you can move on with your life."_

"_You're not going to shut up about this until I agree to go, are you?"_

"_No, I'm not."_

_I considered what she was saying and I realized that I had made her a part of this mystery life I was living to these people._

"_Mom, do you think Santana will be there?"_

_She looked directly at me._

"_I don't know. She's still in New York, but if she does show up, I think it would be a good opportunity to finally talk to her, honey. I think you could both use a chance to see each other again and get things out in the open. Who knows? You may not get another chance."_


	36. Chapter 36

Thanks again for all the positive reviews and PMs. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Quinn's POV:

"Are we really going to do this?" Santana asked me while playing with the skinny belt on my light green and white dress.

"Well, everybody's here and we made a whole big deal out of flying them in and renting this place. So, we should probably just do it." I put my hands around her neck and pulled her in.

"Alright then, I guess we should go get married or whatever," she joked.

We both laughed as we stood inside the screened in porch of the beach house we had rented especially for today. We looked out at the small group of people we had chosen to invite. Our families were there and our second family, our friends were also there waiting for us to walk out in our bare feet to Puck playing the acoustic guitar softly in the background. Beth and Shelby were in the front row and Finn was sitting next to them looking lovingly at Rachel who was standing on Quinn's side of the aisle. Kurt and Brittany were standing on my side of the aisle and Mercedes was standing next to Rachel for Quinn. Blaine stood in the middle because we had chosen him to marry us. We'd spent a lot of time with Kurt and Blaine after we got together and Blaine was always this guy who could so easily express feelings and he loved love. He was also great in front of crowds.

"Are you ready, baby?" I asked her as I watched her stare at the ocean.

"I've been ready for this for a very long time."

The music started and we walked out together to finally make this thing we'd wanted for so long a reality.

"Quinn and Santana have written their own vows and they'd like to share them with us right now. Quinn?" Blaine motioned for me to speak and I wasn't really nervous until this moment.

Our hands were clasped together between us and I could feel her squeeze mine as she winked and my nervousness dissipated enough to declare my feelings.

"I remember when I first met you and I thought you were such a bitch." The entire group erupted in laughter including Santana. "And I am so tempted to say you're my bitch now." Laughter again and a tear from Santana that I wiped away before putting my hand back in hers. "It's 15 years later and we're standing here together telling the people we love that we're in this forever and I know that I am. I know that I have loved you for so long and that I spent too much time without you in my life and that I cannot ever do that again. You get me to live in the moment and make impulsive decisions when you know I struggle with that and it makes me better when you do. I made promises to you at another wedding that I intend to keep and there are more I want to make to you right now, but I can't seem to think of them because I can only focus on how unbelievably beautiful you look today and how I cannot believe this is finally happening. I love you and I will spend my entire life loving you, Santana Lopez." I had to stop myself because my tears were starting to fall and I was getting choked up. She leaned in and kissed them off my cheeks.

"Hey now you two, I haven't told you to kiss the bride yet," Blaine chastised and everyone laughed again including San and I.

"Q, I remember what it felt like the first time I saw you after we graduated high school and you had gone to Yale and I was headed to New York by way of Kentucky. There was just something different about you. You had somehow managed to grow up in a matter of months while I felt so far behind everyone else. That's what you do for me. You make me think about growing up and the future. You make me think about my life and what it could be like. I love living in the moment with you, but you're the only person I also love planning a future with. I love you so much sometimes I miss you and you're right next to me. I just love you and I promise you everything. Everything you want in life, I will do anything to help you get it because you're my one, Q. I pick you."

I couldn't wait for Blaine to say it. I pulled her in quickly and she wasn't expecting that so it was a good thing she wasn't wearing those heels she loves because she stumbled a bit before our lips finally met.

"You may now kiss the bride?" Blaine offered in question form, but I only heard blah, blah, blah because Santana's kiss made me woozy. I deepened it as I heard the applause from the crowd and after a while, I pulled back and rested my forehead against hers.

"Happy Valentine's Day, San."

"Happy Valentine's Day, wife. We just got married, baby." She called me wife.

"Finally."

_Santana's POV:_

_About 13 years ago:_

"_This is ridiculous." I complained as my 6-year old cousin placed a Kleenex veil on my head._

"_Santana, she's 6. Just go with it." Quinn had this was of ordering me around, but I guess I had to take it because she was helping me babysit this demon child. I should be at Puckerman's party peeling him off larger than life Lauren and trying to get him back, but instead I'm at my Aunt's house on a Saturday night with Quinn Fabray because she wasn't really in the party mood a lot these days and needed a night away from the house of constant prayer that was her home._

_Another veil was placed on Quinn's head as we sat on the couch next to each other._

"_You have to hold her hand, Tana." I was being directed by a tiny human._

"_I'm not holding Quinn's hand. This dress-up routine is getting old. Isn't there a cartoon on or a game you could play on Q's phone?"_

"_Santana, shut up already." Quinn reached over and roughly took my hand in hers._

"_Good. Now you're married."_

"_What? That's it? We hold hands and we're married?"_

"_Yeah, silly." She ran off leaving Quinn and I on the couch._

"_She just married us with Kleenex and I'm silly?" I pulled my hand away from Q's._

"_She's a kid, San. She still thinks Santa and the tooth fairy are real."_

_I stood up and walked toward the kitchen.  
"Yeah well, she'd have to be delusional to think we would ever get married."_


	37. Chapter 37

Quinn's POV:

"Hey, wait." I pulled Santana away from the door she was about to head out of to join the party.

She stood facing me and linked our hands.

"You're standing between me and me getting my drink and dance on, Q." She smiled at me.

"I just…"

She leaned in and rested her forehead against mine.

"What's wrong, baby?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just want a moment with you before we walk out there and get pulled in different directions."

"I can do that." She kissed my forehead. "Come with me."

She pulled me by the hand back through the house away from the party that had gathered for our reception on the beach and we ended up walking down a few houses still in our wedding dresses. She wouldn't tell me where we were going. Just that we were going. We ended up walking to a little stretch of uninhabited beach and we walked toward the edge of the water where she sat down.

"San, your dress is going to get messed up."

"I don't care. Sit me with, Quinn." She raised her hand for me to take it, but I chose to sit behind her and hold her instead.

"This is nice."

"Is this what you wanted?"

I kissed her neck.

"It's just that it's our day, but so much of it has been and will be spent with everyone we know."

"Just admit it, Q. You've always wanted to have beach sex with me."

I laughed into her ear and pulled back a little to rest my hands in the sand behind me. She turned a little to face me.

"That's what the honeymoon is for, Santana."

"Yeah, it is." She winked and turned to sit sideways still between my legs. "I still can't believe we're actually here."

"I know. It's weird to think about everything that had to happen to get us here."

"You know I don't really do this romantic stuff well, but-"

"Baby, you do the romantic stuff very well. It's you that doesn't seem to know that."

"Yeah, yeah anyway..." She moved her hand to my knee. "I just wanted to say that I can't decide what the best day of my life is anymore."

"What?"

"Well, there's today obviously, but there's the day you agreed to marry me and there's Valentine's Day about 10 years ago where you let me… where we shared… well, you know. The good days keep stacking up and they all involve you." I smiled at her. "After you were just gone and I was broken, I never thought this would happen. I never really thought it would happen when were dancing around things either, but I had at least some hope that some day you'd realize I was the one for you, but when you just left, I thought you hated me and that you were really gone."

"I never hated you."

"I know that now, dumb ass." I laughed at her. "Even you aren't that big of a masochist to marry someone you hate."

"Do you think that if we would have told each other how we felt back then, we'd still be here? I mean, maybe not the same wedding, but that we'd still be married?"

"Please, we probably would have gotten married, been divorced, and then gotten remarried because we're both incapable of living without the other one, but our mid-twenties selves would be too dumb to realize that and we'd argue about stupid things like we used to in high school."

I laughed.

"You're not allowed to divorce me."

"Don't give me a reason too, blondie." She smiled and leaned in to kiss me and then she stood up and pulled me with her. I reached around her to wipe the sand off her dress and she did the same for me.

"I guess we have to head back." I turned my attention to a little ways down the beach where I could hear the music and see our friends and family getting the party started without us. "Let's walk along the beach this time." I took her hand and we started to walk along the edge of the water.

"Quinn?"

"Yeah?"

"I honestly don't know what would have happened back then and I don't want you to take this the wrong way, baby, but I'm kind of glad you left."

I stopped walking and she got pulled back to me when I did.

"Explain that one, wife."

"You needed to go. Not just because you needed to get away from me, but you needed to get away from everything else too. I hated being without you and it still hurts thinking about it, but you needed time and I did too. I had to grow up so I could get here with you."

"I understand. You were glad I left and didn't miss me at all. You felt no pain whatsoever and kind of regret that I went to that reunion." I explained sarcastically and smiled.

"That's it exactly," she replied with an equal amount of sarcasm.

"It was like that for me too." That response was a little sarcasm, but also held some seriousness because I knew what she meant. We smiled because we both understood each other.

Santana's POV:

We approached our reception from the beach instead of from inside the house and we went almost unnoticed until I heard Berry yell.

"There they are! Where have you two been? This is your party."

"They were probably having sex on the beach!" Brittany sort of yelled over the music and almost every head turned in our direction.

"We were not having sex on the beach, but I am about to have _a_ sex on the beach." I took Quinn with me over to the bar so we could get our celebration started.

We spent the next hour eating dinner and socializing. I hadn't eaten anything all day due to the nerves that finally showed up in the morning. I was starving and when it came time to cut the cake, I was happy to be getting some sugar into my system that didn't come from alcohol.

I didn't get Oli to make our cake because it didn't seem right. I also thought she might put a bomb in it or something, but that thought only lasted for a second because she really did seem okay the last time I talked with her and I was happy. She and Morgan were still together and she loved her job. Morgan was even featured in some magazine about people helping people. The non-profit she ran helped abused woman get on their feet. Oli really did trade up with that one.

We sat at the main table and I wrapped my arm around Quinn's chair as Brittany stood to give her maid of honor speech.

"I never thought Santana would get married. She never seemed the type. Even when she was in a relationship, I never saw her actually committing to a lifetime with someone let alone actually put it on paper. Then, I saw how she was with Quinn when we were in college." Quinn moved her head to my shoulder at the mention of her name. "We didn't spend a lot of time together back then because I was off teaching geniuses math at MIT, but when I saw them together, something clicked and I thought back to all the times San had yelled at Quinn for making dumb choices." She looked at Quinn. "Sorry, Quinn." Quinn just laughed at her. "And Quinn would always tell Santana she could be better. The three of us have been best friends forever and we've gone our separate ways and I got married and I've had two kids and I've given Lord Tubbington to the government so they could study his brain. Santana's become super successful and is about to put out an album we've all been waiting for and Quinn was off becoming British and now they're here and they're finally doing what they're supposed to be doing. I love both of you and I'm so happy you finally woke up and realized this is how it's supposed to be."

Everyone applauded and I used my finger to lift Q's chin so I could kiss her. It was then that I noticed Rachel stand up on Quinn's side of the table and I braced myself for whatever Celine Dion song lyrics she would use in her speech.

"If you would have told 16 year old Rachel Berry that I would be Quinn Fabray's maid of honor at her wedding to Santana Lopez, I would have told you that was the craziest thing I could ever imagine and I work on Broadway." People laughed, but I reserved my laughter wanting to see where she was going with this. "I envied both of them in high school because they seemed to have everything. Quinn and I fought and Santana and I fought and they fought with each other and everyone else and we were all just teenagers in a small town with these big dreams. We didn't see that then though. We didn't understand that we could all support each other through that stuff instead of tearing each other down. After graduation, some things changed. Santana was still pretty bitchy." I did laugh at that. "But she was also there for me through some pretty big life moments and she encouraged me to reach for the things I wanted and I tried to do the same for her. Quinn was off at Yale following her dreams and I'd see them together when she'd visit and I could tell something had changed between them. I didn't know they were both obsessed with each other." Another laugh. "I just knew that they were supposed to be in each other's lives and it seemed like they had gotten past all their issues. We had all moved on. I missed Quinn when she left, but she was off becoming this Quinn and this Quinn is one of my closest friends and I'm so happy they did this and that they did it today of all days because I actually remember a lot from that Valentine's Day they say this whole thing started. I remember singing with Finn and looking down at everyone dancing and I remember seeing the two of them dancing rather closely for two friends that night." More laughs. Berry's a comedian. "I'm so happy for them and for those of us who have watched this thing unfold from the beginning."

Everyone applauded again and I liked Rachel a little more after that speech.

Quinn's POV:

It was getting late and I was exhausted, but I was having a great time and I wasn't ready for this day to be over yet. Santana and I were sitting at a large round table with Rachel, Finn, Brittany, Kurt, Blaine, Mike, Tina, Mercedes, Puck, and Sam who had reappeared in our lives with Mercedes. They had started dating again a few months before the wedding. Looking around this table, it's a little weird to think that most of us ended up with someone from McKinley. Most of us ended up with someone from New Directions. We all spent so much time trying to get away, but we married people from the place we were trying to run away from.

"Now that you're an old married couple, what's next?" Blaine jokingly asked.

"Our fabulous honeymoon." Santana squeezed my hand under the table.

"Then, Santana's album comes out so she'll be promoting that."

"Q's going to help with the marketing since she's the only person I really trust with my music."

"What about you guys? Mercedes, Sam? Wedding bells in your near future?" I prodded.

"I just got the girl to finally date me again after years of trying. Give me a minute, Quinn," Sam explained and put his arm around his girl.

"I'm too busy to be getting married anyway," Mercedes agreed.

"Finn and I are thinking of renewing our vows," Rachel expressed.

"Of course you are," I told her and everyone laughed.

"I'm actually going to be making a career change." That was the first time I'd heard Finn talk all day. "I finally got my teaching certificate."

"Wow! Finn, that's great!" Everyone congratulated.

Finn had been going to school part-time for years and subbing when he could while also running a couple of tire shops. He and Rachel had money because of her career, but acting and music aren't exactly stable careers so he always had a job just in case. Plus, he needed something to do with his time.

"I've got an interview next week with a school who needs a new history teacher and someone to run their choir."

"That's great, Finn." Quinn looked over at him and they shared a smile. Oh how far they've come.

"No one's talking about my awesome pool cleaning business, I see." Puck set his beer on the table.

"Oh please, regale us," I teased.

"Hey, I've got like 10 employees in Lima now and an office. I'd say I'm doing alright."

I saw a blonde pre-teen tug on Quinn's arm and Quinn looked up at her daughter.

"Hey Beth," she greeted.

"Hey, I just wanted to let you know mom and I are leaving."

Quinn let go of my hand so she could stand.

"Thank you for coming."

"Yeah, congrats on your wedding. I like Santana."

I smiled at that.

"I like her a little bit too. Tell Shelby I said thank you too."

"I will. Um… I was wondering if maybe when you get back from your honeymoon… do you think we could have dinner together?" Anyone could see Quinn's smile from a mile away. "Puck can come too if he wants."

Puck smiled too.

"Of course. As long as it's okay with your mom."

"I already asked her. She said it's fine."

"Then, why don't I call you when I get back and we can get Puck on the phone and make sure he can come to town?"

"Okay. Um… my mom's waiting. So I should go."

"Okay. I'm really glad you came, Beth."

"Me too." She paused. "Quinn, I missed you when you were away."

"I missed you too."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. More than you know."

"Are you and Santana gonna have kids?"

Quinn looked over at me for a moment and smiled before looking back.

"Some day."

"Well, maybe I can babysit sometimes since I'll be old enough and they'd be like my brother or sister kind of."

Quinn's smile expanded even further. I looked over at Puck who was staring at his daughter with the same expression.

"I think San and I would really like that."

"Okay. Well, I gotta go." She leaned in and wrapped her arms around Quinn's waist. Quinn hesitated for a moment and sighed before returning the gesture. God, Beth looked just like her. "Bye Puck," she said quickly before waving at him and walking off.

Quinn sat back down next to me and my arm instinctively went around her shoulder.

"You okay?"

"I'm great."

She looked over at Puck and they exchanged a glance that said "we did the right thing" without actually sharing the words. I think it was in this moment that I really finally understood how hard that was for her back then and how strong she's been this entire time especially when she was in London. Somehow, I love her even more.

Santana's POV:

_Summer About 9 Years Ago:_

"_Hit send already, Q." I was holding the phone in front of Quinn's face. I had just dialed the number and was waiting for Quinn to work up enough courage to actually make the call._

"_What if she doesn't want to talk to me?"_

"_Quinn, she's like 4. She talks to imaginary people. I think she'll talk to you."_

_Quinn hesitated for another moment before hitting the button and we listened to it ring on speaker._

"_Hello?"_

"_Hi Shelby, it's Quinn."_

"_Oh hey Quinn, hold on. She's in her room. I'll get her."_

"_It's okay. If she's busy, I can call back."_

_Shelby laughed._

"_She's always busy. She's in there dancing around. She sings too. It's pretty funny."_

_Quinn smiled at the thought. "She knows you're calling though." I heard Shelby yell Beth's name._

"_Hello." Her voice was shaky from being out of breath._

"_Beth?" Quinn asked more than greeted._

"_Hi Quinn!"_

_Quinn laughed a little at Beth saying her name._

"_Hi. How are you?"_

"_I'm good. I was just dancing. My mommy said you dance too. Do you dance?" _

"_Sometimes."_

"_Do you like dancing? I think it's fun."_

"_Yeah, it is fun."_

"_Do you want to come dance with me? I have this game that you dance too and the people move with you."_

"_If your mom says it's okay…"_

"_Mom! Can Quinn come dance with me now?"_

_Quinn didn't realize that she's four and cannot comprehend a request taking place in the future._

"_Honey, Quinn's busy now, but she can come over any time she wants to dance with you."_

"_Really? Do you want to come over tomorrow, Quinn?"_

"_Shelby?"_

"_That's fine, Quinn. I usually come home around 4. Do you want to come for dinner?"_

"_Yeah, that would be great. Um… Shelby, I'm staying with Santana. Would it be okay if she comes along?" _

"_Quinn, I don't need too-" I tried to interject, but Quinn hit the mute button on the phone quickly._

"_I need you too." She looked me straight in the eye with a kind of desperation I'd never seen before._

"_Okay."_

_She took us off mute and I put my arm on her back to try to calm her nerves._

"_It's fine with me if Santana comes," Shelby confirmed._

"_Cool. Does Santana dance too? Beth asked._

"_Yes, Santana is a great dancer. You should ask her to sing for you though. She's a great singer too."_

"_Maybe you and I can sing to her, Quinn." I rubbed her back._

_She looked at me._

"_I'd like that."_

"_Me too," Beth announced and I forgot for a moment she was even on the phone as I looked into Quinn's eyes._

"_Okay. We'll see you tomorrow night then."_

"_Cool. I'm going now. Bye Quinn."_

"_Bye Beth."_

"_She's excited to see you, Quinn." Shelby said and the two of them shared their goodbyes and Quinn hung up the phone._

"_You doing alright?"_

"_Yeah, she's pretty great, huh?" She smiled._

"_She's your kid, Q. Of course she's great"_

_She set her phone on the table and returned her attention to the TV and the smile stayed on her face the rest of the night. I would know too because I pretty much couldn't take my eyes off her._


	38. Chapter 38

Quinn's POV:

"Yeah, right there… fuck!" Santana screamed into my mouth as I tried to kiss her while pushing my body into hers. "Jesus!" Her back arched off the bed as I felt her muscles clench and I kissed her again while slowing my movements. "God Quinn, honeymoon sex is fucking amazing!"

I laughed at her as I kissed her again and I felt her arms move from around my back to my hips and then her left hand moved again. I moaned and as her fingers entered, my hips began moving on their own and her hips moved up in rhythm.

"You're right about that," I agreed.

We decided to take a honeymoon tour since we couldn't just agree on one place and Santana brought up the fact that we had money and we should use it. She was right about that. She was obviously successful, but I had already been promoted to a corner office at my job. I guess all those annoyances at my last one prepared me for this one and we were definitely more than well off now. Plus, I was about to take over the marketing for her album more as a favor than as an actual job since she'd be the one paying me. I told her she could pay me in sexual favors, but she pointed out that she'd really be paying herself with that so we just agreed that I'd do this one for her and see if it takes my career in another direction. My job was fine and I liked the people, but I feel like I kind of want to just take a lot of time off and do fun things that I missed out on since I'd been working in the corporate world since I was 22. San said she didn't have a problem if I decided to never work again if it meant that I was home more with no late nights in the office. I wasn't ready to go that far, but the no late nights part did sound nice.

The first stop on our honeymoon tour was San Francisco so I could finally see the restaurant she'd named Valentine's after our first time together. It was this place with red and white walls and it had black trim. It reminded me of a Cheerios uniform and made me laugh a little, but the food was nice and it was on the 9th floor of a skyscraper and had a balcony with a view. We had a table setup just for us and spent the whole night on that balcony talking and looking out over the city. We spent a little time making out too. We also spent most of the week exploring our hotel room. We spent a few hours exploring the city too.

The next stop was Hawaii, which was San's pick and was where we spent some time on the beach, but again spent the majority of our time in the hotel room overlooking that same beach. Thank God it was a private beach because we were definitely naked for most of that time.

The final stop was Italy because I'd always wanted to go there. Santana actually surprised me with that one. We were supposed to spend a week in SF, and one week in Hawaii because she needed to get back to finalize everything for her album. She said we could go to Italy for our anniversary, but right when we were leaving for the airport, she told me to remember to pack my passport and showed me the tickets to Rome she's gotten us.

We were currently lying next to each other on our bed in our hotel that overlooked the dilapidated, yet beautiful coliseum.

"How many times is that today?" She took a drink of the sparkling water sitting next to the bed and looked over at me.

"I think that makes five."

"You about ready for six?" She wiggled her eyebrows at me.

"Baby, I love you, but my body needs a few minutes."

"Um…your body needs my tongue." She set the water down and moved back to prove her point by dragging her tongue along my neck while I laughed at her.

"How about we stay naked…" I kissed her.

"I'm listening…"

"But we take a bath and you sit behind me…" I kissed her again and lifted my hand to move the hair out of her face. "And you wrap your arms around my waist…"

"I'm looking for something in the X rated department, woman. We didn't have sex for a good 9 years. I'm still trying to make up for that."

"I'll put my arm around your neck and pull you in to kiss me and your hand will slide lower and lower…"

"Let's go." She jumped off the bed and dragged me into the oversized bathroom. She started the tub and then turned back to me. I put my arms around her neck and kissed her pushing my tongue into her mouth and dragging my hands down her back while she pushed me back against the shower door. "That feels good, Q."

After a few minutes of making out while trying to keep her hands where I could see them because my body really did need a break, the water was ready and she slid in with her arms open so I could slide in front of her. She kissed my neck lightly before moving to my shoulder and then my ear. I put my arms over hers.

"San, I don't think we've left the room since we've been here."

"So? It's our honeymoon. We're supposed to have sex continuously."

I laughed before turning my face a little.

"I know, but I would like to actually see the city while we're here. That is why you surprised me with my dream trip. We need to take at least some pictures to show people when we get back and I am not showing them pictures of what we've been doing indoors."

"Fine. Fine." She kissed my cheek and I felt that hand move south. It stilled on my thigh.  
"Oh, go ahead." I granted permission while laughing at my little sex fiend wife and her fingers moved to my still sensitive clit and my breath stopped momentarily. "That always feels good."

"Yes, it does." She kissed my cheek again and I turned a little more, which gave her more access, but also allowed me to kiss her. I felt her fingers move to my entrance while her palm flattened against my nerves and my hips started pushing against it to get the friction I needed.

After awhile, we noticed the wrinkles growing on our fingers and got out. I wrapped her body in a towel and kissed her before she opened the towel and drew me into her body wrapping it around both of us.

"I love you."

"I love _you_, Q."

We dried off and the room phone rang. I ran to answer it still without my clothes. I wasn't even sure why I'd bother to pack for this trip. It was just room service asking if they could bring us a different bottle of wine because they were out of the one we originally ordered. I told them that was fine and walked back to find my wife in the bathroom hanging the towel on the rack.

"Did I just witness Santana Lopez actually hanging up a towel?"

She laughed, looked at me and walked over taking my hands in hers and stared down at that ring and the other one she had added on our wedding day.

"No. You witnessed Santana _Fabray_ actually hanging up a towel."

"Oh God, I'm still getting used to that."

"Me too. Still can't believe I actually took your name. I guess I really do just fucking love your ass, Q."

"Well, we both know you love my ass, but I told you we should hyphenate or that I would take Lopez _or _that we could just keep our own names. You were the one that wanted my name, Santana _Fabray." _I emphasized her new last name and loved the way it sounded. "Also, I can't believe you actually hung up a fucking towel regardless of what your last name is, S."

I kissed her on the nose and walked us backwards toward the bed so we could squeeze in another round before room service arrived.

Santana's POV:

_About 14 Years Ago:_

"_Santana, we are sharing this room for the next three days. Pick up your damn towels and get your clothes off the ironing board so I can iron my uniform!"_

"_Chill, Fabray! I'll do it later. Stop being so crazy, Quinn. Sit down and watch this movie with me." _

_We were at a cheer competition and because Sue knew about Brittany and I, she forced me to room with Quinn while Brittany roomed with one of the other girls. I thought about trying to get them to switch or at least sneaking into her room, but I had missed spending time with Quinn lately so I opted to at least spend one night with her._

"_We have to be up at like 6, Santana. We need to go to sleep." She walked out of the bathroom carrying a couple towels and tossed them on the bed in front of me._

"_Come on, Q. They're wet." I shoved them onto the floor.  
"Why are you so damn messy all the time?"_

"_Why are you always on my ass about stuff that doesn't even matter? Relax for like 5 minutes. I mean Jesus, Quinn, you're starting to stress me out and I don't really care about anything enough to get stressed about it."_

_She shrugged her shoulders and I could tell I had at least convinced her to take a break from her crazy._

"_Fine. What are you watching?"_

"_I don't know. It's some Lifetime movie. I think it's supposed to be serious, but I think it's hilarious."_

"_You would." She lay down next to me on the queen size bed we'd have to share since the hotel only had so many double rooms. "Pass me the chips."_

"_Those are my chips, Q. Ask nicely?"_

_She looked at me with her pissed off stare._

"_Oh please, you stole them from the mini-bar. Give me a damn chip, Santana."_

_I laughed at her and passed her the bag._

"_You know, you're actually okay to be around when you're just chill like this."_

"_I'd be chill more often if you actually cared enough about other people's space to clean up after yourself." I rolled my eyes as she ate a chip. I decided I was done with this stupid argument. I stood, picked up the towels, took them into the bathroom and placed them on the rack so I could reuse them because I knew Quinn didn't like to be the person who just used towels once in hotels. She felt like the maids would judge her for wasting water by having to wash them. I walked back to the bed and plopped down next to her. She just ate another chip and stared at the screen. "Thank you," she offered. "Oh and this is pretty funny."_

_I smiled at her and she passed me the bag so I could pull a chip out for myself. We watched the movie and laughed together at all the overly dramatic parts, but also at the commercials for other Lifetime movies that aired during the one we were watching. She fell asleep before the credits rolled and I got up to brush my teeth and noticed her uniform was still sitting on the desk. I moved my clothes off the ironing board and quietly ironed her uniform so I wouldn't have to hear her complain about it at like 6 in the morning and hung it up in the closet. I slid underneath the cheap, thin hotel blanket and felt her shift her position._

"_Thank you," she whispered._

"_You're welcome." I smiled and fell asleep. Turns out rooming with Q wasn't so bad after all. _


	39. Chapter 39

Quinn's POV:

"San?" I addressed her while lying with my head on her stomach while she was playing with my hair. We were enjoying a lazy Saturday together not having even made it out of bed and it was nearing lunchtime. I remembered how I used to hate the weekends in London because I didn't have work to keep me occupied. I had friends in London, but very few and most of them traveled for work and/or had families of their own to provide them with weekend activities and I was usually left on my own to sit around and read or watch TV or go to a movie by myself. Obviously, that was all self-imposed, but it was still hard.

I love my weekends now. I can't wait to get to Friday because I know Friday night I get to watch San perform somewhere or we have a date night or we meet up with some friends. Saturday mornings we wake up late and just lie around for hours talking and doing other things. Sundays usually start with one of us cooking breakfast and then we call my mom to check-in and then we call San's mom because even though she's less of a pain than mine, if she hears we're calling my mom and not her on a weekly basis, her feisty Latina side will start showing. We'd been married for six months and we'd spent almost all of our weekends together with the exception of the few San was out of town to promote her EP. It had done well. Well enough that a record company had offered her a deal, which meant that she no longer had to finance her own music and put it out independently. It also meant that she was about to get busy and that made me realize that we may need to postpone some other things in our life. It was either we postpone for a couple of years or we act now.

"Hmmmm?" She mumbled with her eyes closed.

"I want to put a baby in there." I kissed her stomach. I went with acting right now.

"That's not news. You've wanted to have my babies for how long now?" Her eyes were open and squinting down at me.

I laughed and kissed the same spot again.

"No, I mean soon. I know we haven't been married that long yet, but-"

She stopped playing with my hair and looked at me.

"How soon is soon, baby?"

"Well, I want you to be ready obviously, but it's not like we can just make it happen ourselves so I was thinking maybe we could start talking about what we want to do at least. You're done promoting your album, but you're signing your deal soon and you'll be recording again and then I know you be going on tour so we can wait if you want or I can have the first one or…" I started wavering worrying that maybe she wouldn't want to take on a baby right now. Even if I have our first, she's still going to be involved in the whole parenting thing. Maybe she won't want that yet.

She lifted my chin and motioned for me to move up on top of her. I did and kissed her gently.  
"I love you," she told me.

"I know. I love you, but if you're not ready, we don't have to talk about this now."

"I'm ready."

"You are?" I asked her with a smile.

"I'm ready to start talking about what we want to do."

"Okay." I let out a sigh of relief that she didn't seem to be concerned about all of this stuff happening at once. I guess I really shouldn't be surprised at all though considering we basically got engaged on our first real date not including Mike and Tina's wedding. Well, we basically exchanged wedding vows on that occasion so this whole doing everything at once kind of fits with us.

"Do you really want me to have the first one?" She asked me.

My hand went to her stomach and moved up and down.

"I thought you wanted too." We had talked about this before. Several times in fact. We just always left it out there without actually finalizing plans. San said she wanted to have the first one and we'd go from there. We considered adoption and we may actually do that someday too, but I really want to see a little Santana lookalike wandering around our house and I know I had Beth, but I missed out on raising her. Shelby's been really amazing with letting Puck and I be a part of her life and Beth has been very understanding about why we had to give her up. She even told us thank you once because she loves Shelby. I'd still like to have one that Santana and I could raise this time. I know our mothers both expect a van full of kids that we drive to their houses for the holidays. I'd be content with two or three. San said she wants enough to make a band out of one day like Selena's dad did with his kids. She said they could even play in the restaurant every week. I love that that's what she wants. A band of musical children. She's changed so much from the girl who couldn't even imagine a life with a wife and kids.

"I do want to have our first one. I just want to make sure you want that too," she confirmed.

"Yeah, I want that, but if you end up going on tour and you get pregnant, will it be okay?" I smiled and kissed her.

"It's just going to be me and an acoustic guitar, Q. I'm not going to be partying Amy Winehouse style and when I do go, I want you to go with me anyway. If I'm pregnant, I definitely want you to go with me. I'll need you to hold my hair back for me when I get morning sickness and I also just kind of want my wife around. I was _hoping_ you'd consider taking time off work to come with me regardless of the baby thing. It's probably going to take us a while to make that part happen anyway and I don't think I can be without you for a three month tour."

"Whatever. I know you just want a stay at home wife."

She laughed at me.

"It's not like we can't afford it. I know you like your job, but it's not like we need you to work. I've already quit my managing job and I'm hardly at any of the restaurants these days. I want to focus on my music for now while that money still comes rolling in for us and if you told me you wanted to quit your job tomorrow, I definitely wouldn't try to stop you, but I want you to do what you want as long as I'm a part of what you want." I love when she talks like this. She still doesn't understand how romantic she can be without realizing it and I don't want to remind her all the time because she'd probably stop just to spite me.

"When that time comes, I will talk to my boss and see if I can go on leave. If not, I'll just quit and find something else when we get back or I won't. I don't know. We'll see how we feel about it then."

"Really?"

"I don't want to be without you for three months either, baby. So, I definitely want to go on tour with you."

"Good. We can use the downtime on the bus to check out baby stuff online. Well, some of the downtime on the bus can be spent on checking out baby stuff. Other times should be spent on living like a rock star and by that, of course, I mean you having tons of amazing sex with me." She winked.

"You'd look good pregnant, baby." I diverted her sex comment back to the baby talk.

"Yeah, I would, but I do have conditions, Q."

"Of course you have conditions."

She kissed me.

"One… just because we can't have kids the old fashioned way doesn't mean we can't pretend we can."

"Meaning?" I asked while laughing at her and moving to kiss her neck.

"Meaning I think we should have sex as often as possible as if we're actually trying to procreate."

And she managed to bring it back to sex. I laughed at her again.

"Don't say procreate. That sounds weird." I kissed her collarbone.

"Condition two?"

"Go ahead weirdo."

"If we have a girl or multiple girls or whatever or even gay sons…"

"Yeah?" I looked at her. I kind of liked how it all sounded.

"She or they are not allowed to be cheerleaders."

I laughed loudly at her randomness.

"What? Why not?"

"Did you forget the torture Sue Sylvester put us through for like four years? I'm not letting her or any other lunatic in a tracksuit put our daughter or little Lady Hummel type son through that. I'd have to let Snix out to cut a bitch." She's always so protective. Even when we're out to dinner with Beth or taking her to a movie, she stares down anyone who even glances at her sideways. I have a feeling she's going to be the kind of mom that gets a shotgun for the express purpose of scaring off dates when our kids are teenagers. Then again, she is Santana. She doesn't need a shotgun. She can just glare them into compliance. God, I love this woman.

"She was pretty crazy, huh?"

"Pretty crazy? Q, she tried to shoot Brittany out of an actual cannon. That is beyond crazy." Her arms went to my hair and she pushed it behind my ears.

"Okay. If it's that important to you, we won't put our hypothetical daughter or gay son in cheerleading."

"Then, let's make some babies, baby." She kissed me and lifted her hips up in a mock thrust.

"Now?"

"Must I refer you to condition number one, Q?"

"Sometimes, I cannot believe I married you."

"Because it's like a dream come true?" She joked and pulled me in for another kiss.

"Yeah, _your_ dream." I mocked her and kissed her again taking her lower lip between mine to indicate that I was ready to wrap up this conversation and move onto the other activity she had suggested. My hand moved under the shirt that had gathered up when I started kissing her stomach and I used my other one to tug on the band of her shorts.

"I'm pretty sure the reason we got married is because we shared that dream, Lucy Q."

"And how does reality compare to the dream, San?" I looked into those brown eyes that always told me what she was thinking.

"There is no comparison, Quinn." I knew what she meant this time.

Santana's POV:

_About 15 Years Ago:_

"_Alright fresh meat, welcome to the first day of the rest of your lives. This weekend I will begin the process of molding you into perfect cheerleading specimens that will continue the tradition of winning nationals at McKinley High. I will work your bodies harder than they have ever been worked before and I will make you throw up your breakfast, lunch, and dinner with my high intensity workouts and you will learn the meaning of the words sacrifice, dedication, and victory. On my Cheerios, we accept nothing but perfection." This was all yelled to us over a loudspeaker by some very tall, blonde woman who was standing at the top of the stands speaking into the old school microphone while about 40 girls and 5 gay guys stood in perfectly straight lines on the football field while listening intently with fear in their eyes. _

_I was beginning to regret my decision to try out for cheerleading, but I knew I needed to do something to get myself noticed as a new freshman on campus. All the girls and guys were wearing some combination of red and white and the girls all had the prerequisite high ponies._

_This was the first day of the weekend long cheer camp that would determine which of us would even make it to the tryouts. It was an unwritten rule that if you messed up here, you didn't even get a chance to audition. I had a feeling this was going to be a long weekend. _

"_She's kind of crazy, huh?" A girl with blonde hair standing next to me shared._

"_Yeah, I guess." I whispered somewhat quietly to try to avoid the wrath of the Sasquatch yelling at us from above._

"_She reminds me of my cat Lord Tubbington. He's always bossing me around."_

_I looked straight ahead with wide eyes trying to figure out who was crazier, the woman screaming at us about protein shakes and Michael Bolton or the one standing on my right telling me she takes orders from her cat._

"_Look to your left. This is your partner for our first exercise. I want to see your lifts, your tucks and your high ponies bounce in a duo routine in 10 minutes." No one moved. "Now!"_

_I looked to my left and saw another blonde standing there. She looked over at me and she had these eyes like none I'd ever seen before._

"_So, have you ever done anything like this?" She asked me._

"_No. Let's just get started and don't drop my ass on the ground, blondie."_

"_Wow! Nice to meet you too. I'm Quinn, by the way and I won't drop you unless you keep giving me that attitude."_

"_Santana and my attitude is my trademark."_

"_Then, I guess my trademark will be not taking your attitude."_

_I smiled my sideways smile at her. I kind of liked this girl so I felt I could maybe give her a chance._

"_Let's start again. I'm Santana."_

_She looked at me with a stare that said she wasn't sure that she could trust this do over introduction, but her face changed and she gave me a sideways smile too._

"_Nice to meet you, Santana. I'm Quinn."_

The End

I hope you all enjoyed my little story and that all the angst in the beginning was worth getting through to get to all the happy in the end. I also hope this can hold you over because I am tapped out on Quinntana ideas. This one wasn't really even mine. An idea may come to me randomly and if it does, I'll write it, but I hope this story and Navigating After can keep you occupied until then. Thank you again for all the reviews, PMs, alerts and favorites. I especially appreciate those of you who added me to your author alerts/favorites. It really means a lot to me.


	40. Epilogue

And here's the epilogue…

Epilogue:

Quinn's POV:

"Mom, can we go now? Enough with the pictures." Beth let out an exasperated sigh in Shelby's direction as she continued to take pictures of her and the prom date standing next to her in front of their fireplace.

Santana and I were standing off to the side taking video on my phone that we could send to Puck later. He couldn't make it, but we wanted to send him something so he could at least see his daughter going to her junior prom.

"Mommy, I broke my game." Our four year old held up Santana's phone for me to look at. He had been playing some game on it since we'd gotten here and was now clearly bored.

"Jace, chill," Santana ordered and knelt down to take the phone and fix the problem. She winked at him and handed it back over. "This is a big day, remember?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you play for a few more minutes?"

"Okay." He shrugged his shoulders and walked off to the kitchen to sit at the table and play. Santana stood back up and leaned into me.

"He's your son, Q."

"Why is he my son when he's a trouble maker and your son when he behaves?"

"Because that's the way it's gotta be, baby."

"I want some with just you, honey. Anthony, can you…" Shelby asked and the boy in the tux moved away from the fireplace and toward our direction. Santana slid from her position next to me and moved next to him against the other wall.

"So, you and Beth, huh?" I overheard her begin.

"Um… yeah." He was already intimidated and she hadn't even started yet.

"That's my wife's daughter. You know that? Basically makes her my daughter too."

"Yeah, Beth told me." He was staring at his shifting feet.

"I work in the music business and I come across a lot of guys who carry guns. Bouncers, body guards, guys who know where to hide bodies."

"Santana!" I exclaimed.

She looked at him and lifted her eyebrows.

"It's okay, Q. I think Anthony and I understand each other."

"Yes, ma'am," the terrified seventeen year old boy said. His nervousness would have been funny, if I didn't actually believe San would murder him if he did anything to Beth.

"Alright, you can go now. Have fun you two. Be safe," Shelby instructed her and Beth pulled him by the arm out to their waiting limo saying goodbye to San and I quickly to avoid more pictures and also probably to avoid more harassment for her date.

"You are evil." I told Santana after they had closed the door behind them.

"Oh come on, I didn't even do anything."

"You threatened his life, baby."

"If she wouldn't have, I would've," Shelby added.

"How you feeling about your first born going to her prom?" San asked me when we arrived home. Jace ran off to his room to play.

"Hey, brush your teeth. It's almost bed time." I ordered, but I doubt he heard me as he ran off singing some cartoon theme song to himself.

"It's weird. I feel old, but I shouldn't because I had her so young."

She pulled me by the waist after I hung up our jackets in the hall closet.

"Hey beautiful." She had just returned from a weeklong trip to LA for work and had gone straight from the airport to Shelby's so she could see Beth off with me.

"I missed you," I expressed and I pulled her in for a deep kiss. She pulled back when I almost tripped on a toy truck that Jace failed to pick up earlier today. She then shifted me against the now closed closet door.

"So, someone's about to go to bed to sleep, which means that we can go to bed and not sleep." Her hands moved to my belt, which she undid quickly before slowly sliding it out of my pants and tossing it on the floor somewhere. "You and me. Bed now."

She pulled me by the waistband simultaneously undoing my button as she did so.

"San, we have to get him in bed first and besides, I have a surprise for you."

"Can it a bedroom surprise, Fabray?"

"No, but it does involve me asking your mom to make that cake you love that I can never replicate and getting her to send it so it would be here when you got home from your trip."

Her eyes got big.

"Her rum cake is here? She only makes that at Christmas." She ran toward the kitchen. Sometimes, it's like I have 2 children and I'm not including Beth in that count. I buttoned my pants back up and followed her. She had stopped in the open archway that was the entry to our kitchen. "Baby, what's all this?" She exclaimed after looking at the kitchen island I had decorated with candles and flowers.

"I wanted tonight to be special."

"Because you missed me so damn much?" She leaned back against me and I wrapped my arms around her.

"Because I went to the doctor today."

She whipped around.

"Oh my God, I completely forgot. Is everything okay? What did she say?" Her pace was frantic and I could see that I had gotten her worried accidentally. I pushed her toward the island where I had also placed the cake on a plate for her. I motioned with my head for her to look down at it. "Why is there a number 2 written in icing on my cake?" She looked at me confused and I smiled at her. "Really?"

"Yeah," I confirmed and she moved to rest her hand on my stomach.

"There are two of them in there?"

"Yeah, there are two of them in there."

Santana had the first one. We'd been trying for a year to have another and apparently, we got a two for one deal this time.

"Twins, Q?"

She kept looking at her hand and wouldn't meet my eye.

"Is that okay? I know we only planned on one, but-"

She looked up at me and smiled one of the biggest smiles I'd ever seen.

"I love you."

"I love you."

"No, I mean I _love_ you. Like I don't know how you managed to make this happen, but there's not only one baby but two growing inside you right now and all I can think about is how adorable they're going to be because they're coming from you and I just wish they were here already. I don't think I can wait. Baby, now we'll have the guitarist, drummer, and bassist plus a cool gimmick because we'll have twins."

I laughed at her.

"They're not even the size of peanuts, San. I don't really know exactly what size they are. I'd have to check the book, but I know they're not big enough yet to hold a guitar."

"Oh my God, we're going to have to move! We only have three bedrooms here. The guest room will be turned into the nursery still, but when they're old enough I want them to have their own rooms. We should start looking now."

She was freaking out and I was just laughing at her.

"San, calm down. We've got time. They're still in utero."

She pulled me in for a hug.

"I should have been there today, Q. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You were there when they told us we were pregnant. I didn't know about the twin thing until I was there today. I just thought I was having a lot of morning sickness. Turns out, I was having morning sickness for three people instead of two. And now I'm starving. So, let's eat that damn cake your mom must make with her Mexican magic superpowers or something and then get our son to sleep so we can have the rest of the night to ourselves."

I pulled her over to the table while she laughed and nodded in agreement that her mother was indeed a woman with supernatural abilities. I think she was also nodding along to the idea of having the rest of the night to ourselves.

Santana's POV:

"Okay, buddy. Time to get some sleep." Quinn was sitting on the edge of his racecar bed. She kissed his forehead and I moved my hand to her shoulder before leaning in to do the same.

"Sleep tight, little man." I turned on his nightlight even though he insisted he didn't need it anymore. If it wasn't on though, he'd be running into our room in about 20 minutes screaming about monsters and I'd have to spend the next twenty minutes trying to convince him there are no monsters and that would be me forty minutes behind schedule on my very necessary Q time.

"What are their names going to be, baby?" I asked her while pulling off her pants and her underwear at the same time. She was lying on the bed and I had already gotten her shirt off and tossed her bra somewhere in the direction of the bathroom. This was all done in a heated, frantic pace to get her naked, but I slowed down as I moved to slide on top of her also without my clothes on.

"I don't know. I was too busy being shocked that we're having two to even consider that yet."

I stared down at the beautiful woman below me and used my hand to push the hair out of her face.

"We should pick out names for all scenarios, Q. Two boys, two girls, one of each." We didn't find out last time if we were having a boy or a girl and that was mainly Quinn's idea. I rested my forehead against hers and leaned in further to take her top lip between mine.

"Mmmmm. I missed that," she told me. Even though I'd only been gone for a week, we have a four-year old so it's not exactly like we have many nights alone to just be together like this. It had been a while. Of course, to me a while is like two days and no one would blame me if they just laid eyes on the woman I'm married too. "We have to be quiet though, San. He's not asleep yet."

"What else did you miss?" I asked her avoiding the being quiet part knowing Jace would be out quickly with the busy day he had at pre-school and his visit with Beth and Shelby after.

"When you kiss my collarbone and then move to my neck. I missed that too."

"Let me see what I can do." I kissed her again slowly and moved my tongue into her mouth meeting hers immediately and I moaned at the contact. I was shifting my mouth to her neck when I moaned lightly again.

"Seems like someone else missed something too."

"Yeah, that's obvious. What else baby?"

"Do you remember what I used to do when you were pregnant?"

She did a lot of things for me when I was pregnant. I think it helped that she had been pregnant before so she understood what it was like, but there was one thing that I loved more than anything else.

"Now? We're kind of in the middle of something, Q."

She laughed.

"We have all night, San and you asked."

"Woman, you're going to be the death of me." I sat back and looked down at her beautiful body before getting up reluctantly. I pulled some pajamas from the dresser and tossed them to her before putting some on myself and walking into our son's room where I found a sleeping boy and what I was looking for and returned to her. "From the beginning?" I asked her as I lay down next to her and opened the book.

"Yes." She put her arm around my back and started moving her fingers up and down slowly. I lifted the shirt I had just given her up so I could see her stomach.

"Okay. Babies, this is for you." I paused and looked up at my wife taking in her smile before looking back at the book and beginning, "In the great green room there was a telephone. And a red balloon. And a picture of- The cow jumping over the moon and there were three little bears, sitting on chairs and two little kittens and a pair of mittens and a little toy house and a young mouse and a comb and a brush and bowl full of mush and a quiet old lady who was whispering 'hush.' Goodnight room. Goodnight moon," I read aloud to Q's stomach and turned the pages along with the story. She watched me and continued to drag her fingers up and down while my hand went to her stomach as if I could tell whether or not they were actually listening in there by doing so.

I finished the story and closed the book. I rolled away to put in on the table and when I rolled back, Quinn moved on top of me.

"Tomorrow, will you do _Where the Wild Things Are_? Jace likes that one. Will you read it to all of us, baby?" She asked and leaned down to reward me for my reading with a kiss.

"Don't take what I'm about to say too far, but you're literally creating life in that hot body of yours. You're pretty much getting anything you ask for."

She smiled and wiggled her eyebrows.

"Anything, huh?"

"_Yes, _why?" My arms went around her back and I pulled her in closer.

"Will you not get mad at me if I tell you I did something without talking to you about it first? And it's a pretty big something."

I considered it.

"You can have a one-time only free pass. What did you do?"

"I forgot to tell the doctor we didn't want to know and she may or may not have slipped a pronoun in there."

I sat up taking Quinn who was straddling me with me and she would have fallen backwards if I didn't have my hands on her hips.

"You know what we're having and you didn't say anything earlier!?"

She just laughed at me and put her arms around my neck.

"I wasn't sure how you'd react at first and then you seemed like your focus shifted once you had me in the bedroom, baby."

"Quinn, tell me."

"Are you sure you want to know because I didn't have a choice?"

"Spill."

She leaned in and tried to kiss me, but I reflexively pulled back and gave her my patented Santana glare.

"Love of my life, we're going to have two daughters."

I leaned back on my hands and she rested her hands on my stomach under my shirt. I couldn't take my eyes off her.

"We're having girls?"

"We're having girls."

I could feel the tears starting to form in my eyes and I moved one of my hands back to her growing stomach.

"God Quinn, how did we get this lucky?"

She put her hand on top of mine and pulled it up to kiss the ring she had put there years ago.

"I don't think was luck, Santana."

She pulled her shirt the rest of the way off and pulled mine over my head.

"What was it then, Quinn?"

She moved us back down and I loved the feeling of her skin on mine. She kissed my neck and moved to my ear where she whispered.

"Fate, baby."


End file.
